Official website of the President of Russia

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Russian President Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon distinguished guests.

Let me welcome you to Moscow and congratulate you on the beginning of your important mission here.

I cannot fail to note the significant contribution made by foreign ambassadors and diplomatic representatives to the development of relations with Russia.

For our part, we have always greatly appreciated their sincere commitment to partnership, frank dialogue, the search for meaningful and mutually acceptable solutions and, of course, a gracious and respectful attitude to Russia and its people. I hope that this approach will help you in your extensive and dispassionate analysis of developments in our country and give a positive impetus to our bilateral relations.

The outcome of the recent parliamentary and presidential elections in Russia has shown that our current domestic and foreign policies enjoy the support of the overwhelming majority of Russian citizens. This constitutes the surest pledge of continuity and predictability.

I am convinced that Russia will continue to encourage its foreign partners to participate in an extremely positive agenda for fruitful discussions and joint work. We will continue to advocate taking account mutual interests and a collective search for solutions to global and regional problems. Together with other members of the international community, we seek to establish new contracts in the field of security and disarmament. In short, our country is open to the widest possible collaboration on the basis of international law, equality and mutual respect.

We hope that the states that you represent here will be reliable partners for Russia.

Our relations with the Sovereign Order of the Malta are developing positively. We are ready to continue to work together to implement our cultural and charitable projects.

I am confident that the tradition of trust and cooperation between Russia and the Republic of Yemen will be strengthened from year to year. We are ready to increase trade and economic cooperation, as well as enrich the whole palette of our common relations.

We plan to intensify the most important areas of Russian-Nepalese cooperation, both on a bilateral basis and within the framework of international organisations.

We have significant prospects opening up in business and cultural cooperation with Tunisia, our long-standing partner in the Arab world and on the African continent.

We intend to strengthen our strong tradition of strategic partnership and alliance with the Republic of Kyrgyzstan.

Also on the agenda are the active development of political dialogue, business relations and cooperation with regional and international organizations. This approach is in the interests of our countries and peoples and will promote stability in Central Asia.

We believe it is important to exploit more effectively the potential for mutual cooperation between Russia and the Republic of the Philippines. I am confident that together we will be able to give a serious impetus to our joint initiatives and projects.

We attach great importance to strengthening our traditionally friendly relations with Spain. We greatly appreciate the tradition of open dialogue and cooperation in the economic and cultural fields. In the interests of further developing our trade and economic cooperation, there should be more direct contact between the business communities of our countries.

Russia will actively develop multifaceted cooperation with Brazil, one of our leading partners in Latin America. It is very gratifying to see the positive momentum in our bilateral relations. Today it is especially important to focus on the practical side of our business partnership and, above all, to encourage mutual investment and cooperation in the area of high technology.

We attach great importance to close cooperation with our Brazilian partners in the framework of multilateral mechanisms, including promising forums such as the BRIC [Brazil, Russia, India, China].

In recent years we have been steadily developing our ties with Romania. I recall the informative and open dialogue with the President of Romania during a recent visit to Bucharest. We believe that the upcoming celebration in October of the 130th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between our two countries is a good opportunity to take stock of what we have achieved and to set new goals.

I warmly recall my visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the home of Islam, a great world religion. I would particularly stress that the sustained momentum of friendly relations is in the vital interests of our states and is a factor for peace and stability in the Middle East.

In conclusion, I wish to congratulate you once again on the beginning of your interesting and important diplomatic work in Russia.

I hope that it will be fruitful, and that its practical results will allow our countries to reach a new level of political and business cooperation.

I wish you success! All the best to you and your loved ones.

Thank you for your attention.