Talking about foreign policy with Master´s students

It was a real pleasure to welcome a group of Masters students from the Universidad Europea Madrid to the Embassy last week.

With a number of my colleagues I was able to explain the work of the Embassy and Consulates across Spain. We discussed a range of foreign policy and global issues, before concluding with a presentation of the UK’s vision for a reformed EU (you can find more details of this in the Prime Minister’s speech of January 2013 here).

 
It was a very interesting discussion with some really searching questions from the students. Sessions like this are good for those of us who work here as they make us think afresh about the work we do and the policies that underpin it.

I hope our discussions also gave our guests some insights into the workings of a modern Embassy with a wider consular network, and a fuller understanding of the British approach to the big foreign and global policy issues.  We didn’t all agree on everything – but that’s fine.   The lively debate in itself was interesting and valuable.  A good Embassy should be open to new ideas; confident enough to engage in debate; and always striving to understand other points of view.

If your school, college or university would be interested in a similar discussion let me know:  daniel.pruce@fco.gov.uk.