Washington D.C. - Mexico's new envoy to the United States, Carlos Sada Solana, took charge of the embassy in Washington last Thursday saying he was determined "to defend the interests of Mexico and Mexicans at a time when magnate Donald Trump seems headed to be the Republican nominee for the White House."

Sada, appointed as Mexico's new ambassador in Washington by President Enrique Peña Nieto in April, began his tenure by meeting with the diplomatic personnel posted to the embassy, located quite near the White House.

"(When I was appointed) I had the opportunity to have a very personal meeting with President Enrique Peña Nieto where he was very clear and very precise: defend the interests of Mexico and Mexicans," Sada told the diplomats, according to a statement released by the embassy.

"Let us make no mistake. We have to do that daily and systematically," he added.

The arrival in Washington of Sada, an experienced diplomat who most recently was the consul general in Los Angeles, comes amid an intensification of contacts between the Republican Party and Trump, who is moving decisively toward becoming the GOP presidential nominee for the November elections.

The appointment of Sada, who replaces Miguel Basañez, is part of a renewed diplomatic effort by Peña Nieto's administration to deal with the negative image being created of Mexico in the U.S., mainly due to Trump's statements against Mexican immigrants.

Upon his arrival at the embassy, Sada also set forth two other priorities - pushing the bilateral economic agenda in the areas of trade and investment and guaranteeing the protection of Mexicans living in the United States - the embassy said in its communique.