On 16 April 2014, in response to the invitation of the Faculty of International and Political Studies, Mr Ricardo Villanueva Hallal, Ambassador of Mexico to Poland, has visited the Jagiellonian University. The first part of the visit involved a meeting with Prof. Wojciech Nowak, JU Rector, Prof. Bogdan Szlachta, Dean of the Faculty of International and Political Studies, Prof. Adam Walaszek, Head of the Institute of American Studies and Polish Diaspora and Dr hab. Andrzej Krzanowski, Head of the Department of Latin American Studies.

The meeting was devoted to discussing the necessity of developing and expanding the cooperation  between the Jagiellonian University and Mexican higher education institutions.

photo by Anna Wojnar

After the meeting, the Ambassador visited the Institute of American Studies and Polish Diaspora, where he delivered a lecture entitled The Foreign Policy of Mexico. Firstly, he recalled the most important events in the history of Mexico, which greatly influenced the current geopolitical situation of the country, particularly in the area of Mexican-American relations. He then discussed the economic and diplomatic relations between Mexico and the USA and Canada as well as Latin American and European countries. The last part of the lecture was devoted to the Polish-Mexican cooperation. He talked about the history of diplomatic, economic and cultural relations between the two countries. He stated that Mexican intellectuals view Poland as a country of remarkable higher education institutions, high level of knowledge, distinguished poets and great music. A vivid discussion followed the lecture. Janusz Postolko, Honorary Consul of Mexico in Kraków, was a special guest of the meeting.

The meeting was part of the Jagiellonian Diplomatic Encounters, initiated in the 2012/2013 academic year by the Faculty of International and Political Studies.