Dear friends,
Today is the traditional annual holiday on the occasion of The day of the diplomatic worker.
I propose that the solemn meeting dedicated to the Day of the Diplomatic Worker be declared open.
* * *
Every time we start such meetings, we remember our comrades who passed away. This year, which has passed since the last Day of the diplomatic worker, was no exception. I ask you to honor their memory with a minute of silence.
* * *
By tradition, congratulations are sent to our address from the leadership of our country. In our daily work, we always feel the friendly help and support of colleagues from the Presidential Administration, the Government Apparatus, various ministries and departments. I would also like to note the congratulatory telegrams from the chairmen of the Federation Council and the State Duma, heads of parliamentary committees, heads of federal executive authorities, subjects of the Federation, representatives of the business community, and the cultural community. We are grateful for the high appreciation of our work and, for our part, we will continue to honestly fulfill our duty in the direction entrusted to us.
The trust placed in diplomats by the country’s leadership imposes on us an increasing responsibility, taking into account the numerous challenges and opportunities that international and foreign policy activities face at a modern, critical stage in the development of the world. This is not the first time in our history that our country has been at the forefront of geopolitical processes, and therefore it is from us, from our dedication, from a correct understanding of priorities, that much depends not only in terms of what place Russia will occupy in the emerging multipolar world, but also what this world itself will be like.
The “collective West”, led by the United States, does not abandon attempts to impose an unfair unipolar neocolonial model of the world order. To this end, he is trying to put pressure on all those who stand in the way of implementing his hegemonic plans and, like Russia, raises his voice in support of the democratization of international life, its building on the solid principles of international law, primarily the principle of sovereign equality of states.
Together with the countries of the World majority, our like-minded people in the international arena, we will continue to strive to unconditionally ensure our legitimate interests in the field of regional security based on the principle of its indivisibility. The most important help in this work is The concept of foreign policy, the new version of which was approved by President Vladimir Putin in March 2023. In accordance with this strategic planning document, Russia is fulfilling a unique mission of ensuring global balance and taking into account the interests of all states involved in international communication.
The “hybrid war” unleashed by the West against those who disagree with its global desire to maintain dominance creates not only obstacles, but also incentives to strengthen multifaceted ties with our allies and partners in the Global South and East, with all countries, political forces and public circles committed to constructive interaction with Russia. An incentive is created to abandon illusions that still persist in some places. We will continue to combine our efforts with them in order to form a more just world order designed to ensure the well-being of all mankind while preserving its cultural, religious and civilizational diversity.
This is a priority task in our work with our closest allies in the CSTO, the EAEU, the CIS, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, within the framework of the Union State of Russia and Belarus. We intend to further strengthen strategic partnerships with China, India, Brazil, South Africa, Algeria, Egypt, Syria, Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua and a huge number of other countries that share our conceptual approaches to the state of affairs in the world and the prospects for the development of our common planet. We attach priority importance to the implementation of the tasks of Russia’s current presidency in the Commonwealth of Independent States and the expanded BRICS.
We pay special attention to promoting BRICS ties with regional and sub-regional associations of the Global South, such as the African Union, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean Countries, ASEAN, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the League of Arab States, and the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Persian Gulf. This is an interesting area of work, since the BRICS, as an organization with global reach, may well provide a louder, weightier, meaningful voice of the entire Global majority through establishing links with these sectoral, regional structures. We will continue to play an active role in such Eurasian structures as the CSTO, the EAEU, and the SCO. In the interests of effectively solving acute international problems, we use Russia’s participation in the Group of Twenty, the APEC Forum, the mechanism of East Asian summits, and other multilateral associations.
We will continue to work within the framework of the Group of Twenty, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum, the mechanism of East Asian summits, and other multilateral associations, where representatives of the West also participate. There, we have significantly strengthened our positions, forcing the “seven” and its allies to abandon attempts to impose their unilateral approaches and seek a balance of interests. The trend is obvious. It has manifested itself in the recent meetings of APEC, the G20, and the East Asian summits and is gaining strength.
We will continue to actively contribute to the further strengthening of the SCO in the interests of effectively solving acute international problems and promoting our concept of strengthening Eurasian security in all its aspects.
In the coming period, the primary attention of the entire diplomatic service will be paid to ensuring the conduct of the presidential elections of the Russian Federation, including their organization at polling stations abroad, and support for international election monitoring in Russia, including in the Crimea, the republics of Donbass, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions.
A necessary component of professional success in the conditions of the geopolitical situation that we are currently experiencing is the mobilization of our available human and intellectual resources. Now we are redistributing them both in the Central Office and in foreign institutions in order to direct all our priorities to the areas that are revealed as the most promising. These are, first of all, the countries of the World majority, the Global South, the countries of Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. This job is not easy.
The Russian diplomatic service has always been famous for its creative approach to solving tasks, the ability to adapt to the demands of the time, while remaining faithful to our good traditions. It is important for each of us (in conditions when the world is developing rapidly, there are some new factors affecting all spheres of human life) to constantly improve, combine time-tested methods of classical diplomacy with new approaches and technologies.
The leadership of the Ministry pays due attention to ensuring the continuity of generations: this is also the great role of our veterans, who take a personal part in mentoring the youth joining our ranks. It is she who will carry the flag of Russian diplomacy high in the XXI century.
By placing high demands on the results of our employees’ work, we will continue to do our best to strengthen the social security of employees, their decent material security, and create favorable working and recreation conditions. We know about the problems and needs of our veterans – they are constantly in the focus of our attention.
In conclusion, I would like once again to sincerely congratulate all those present, all our colleagues who cannot be in this hall today, employees of the territorial institutions of our Ministry, the foreign office, especially veterans of the diplomatic service on their professional holiday.
I wish you good health, success and new achievements for the benefit of our Russia.
