Official website of the President of Russia

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President Vladimir Putin: Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends,

I am pleased to welcome you to the Kremlin for this presentation of your letters of credentials.

This ceremony marks the official start of your diplomatic mission in our country. It is my sincere desire that this mission is successful and that it brings real results in the form of new mutually beneficial projects and a deepening of bilateral cooperation.

Economic growth, social stability and the consistent development of democratic institutions have considerably increased Russia’s potential on the international stage.

We will make every effort to use this potential in the interests of facilitating positive progress in international relations.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Russia values its longstanding friendship and positive experience of work together with the Republic of Angola. The visit to Moscow of President Dos Santos in 2006 and the Russian Prime Minister’s visit to Luanda in March were both fruitful. I am sure that the implementation of the plans we have drawn up will take our cooperation to a higher level.

This year marks the 150th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Russia and Uruguay. Uruguay is one of Russia’s traditional partners in Latin America. We highly value the dynamic development of our trade and economic ties and the closeness of our countries’ positions on the main issues on the international agenda.

The multifaceted dialogue between Russia and Libya is gaining in substance. Our countries are committed to finding new and more effective forms of business cooperation, above all in the energy sector.

It is our sincere desire to see the internal political crisis in Cote d’Ivoire resolved as soon as possible. Only stability can guarantee the country’s consistent development and it is, of course, an important condition for expanding the whole spectrum of our bilateral contacts.

We have laid good foundations for developing relations between Russia and Oman. We are now engaged in an ongoing dialogue on key international and regional issues. On the agenda now is work to activate our business, cultural and educational cooperation.

Russia values its historically tried and tested relations of authentic partnership with Kazakhstan, our good neighbour and reliable strategic ally. We have made serious progress together over these last years in strengthening stability and encouraging integration processes in the region. Our common task today is to maintain and increase the pace we have set in bilateral cooperation. I am sure that the high-level contacts we have planned will contribute to this.

The peoples of Russia and Thailand are bound by longstanding traditions of friendship. I am sure that Queen Sirikit’s upcoming visit to Russia will give a great boost to cooperation between our two countries and enrich our relations with promising new projects in a wide range of different areas.

Relations between Russia and Andorra are characterised by positive dynamics. We are ready to expand our ties further, above all in the areas of tourism and cultural exchanges.

In conclusion, I once again wish to congratulate you all on the start of your important and, I am sure, very interesting diplomatic mission in Moscow, and wish you success and all the very best.