What motivates a foreign country to open a consulate in a particular U.S. city and state? This is a question often asked by business people and others who want to know why there isn’t a consul in their area to respond to their specific needs.

Recently, I learned that Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin has been trying to make the case with the Mexican President that there should be a new Mexican consulate in Wisconsin. Although we don’t know the outcome of this yet, chances are that our Department of State will approve such an office as long as the Mexican request is backed up by a need for the establishment. It makes sense to have a consulate to serve the needs of the large number of Mexican citizens living in Wisconsin. But what about the other reasons?

Among other traditional functions of a consul/ate is the development of economic, commercial, scientific, and cultural relations. Surely Gov. Walker also had them in mind when he was wooing Mexico for a new consulate in his state.