Russian Diplomats’ Day
On February 10, we are celebrating our professional holiday — Diplomats’ Day, established by the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of October 31, 2002, which testifies to the high public recognition of the diplomatic profession and the important role of the domestic diplomatic service.
The date of the holiday stems from the earliest documentary mention (February 10, 1549) of the Posolsky Prikaz (Ambassadorial House) — the first government structure in the history of Russia in charge of foreign affairs. However, Russia’s diplomatic service is much older: starting from the 9th century, the Russian state has been acting as an active participant in international relations. Since then, Russian diplomats have written many glorious pages in the history of their country, attaining a lot of significant foreign policy achievements.
Russia’s unique geopolitical position predetermined an extraordinarily wide range of its interests in the international arena. Under no circumstances could it afford to pursue a passive or isolationist foreign policy. On the contrary, its interests constantly forced it to play not just an active, but also a largely system-forming role in international affairs.
Today, Russia continues to play a prominent role in the international arena and, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, has a special responsibility for maintaining international peace and security. Its foreign policy is peaceful, open, predictable, consistent, pragmatic, based on respect for generally accepted principles and norms of international law and the desire for equal international cooperation with the aim of solving common problems and promoting shared interests.
These principles find full reflection in Russia’s interaction with the countries of the African continent, with which our country has always been linked by strong bonds of friendly and trust-based relations. Over the decades, they have successfully passed a test of strength and proven themselves long-standing and independent of political circumstances. Our country is deeply interested in continuing to enhance its multifaceted partnership with Africa, including in expanding political dialogue and increasing economic and humanitarian cooperation.
Our partnership with the African continent continues to grow upward. Its strategic directions are outlined by the decisions of the Second Russia-Africa Summit, held successfully in July 2023 in St. Petersburg. Our interaction covers all states and multilateral associations of the continent without exception, extending to the political, socio-economic and humanitarian spheres. Results are expected to be attained in a variety of areas — both traditional since Soviet times, and relatively new to us.
I am convinced that the time-tested Russian-African partnership will continue to deepen and expand for the benefit of our countries and peoples. We have all the necessary prerequisites for this to happen, the main one of which is our mutual determination to consistently and purposefully work in the interests of the dynamic development of our comprehensive cooperation.
I share the same confidence with regard to partnership between Russia and Ethiopia. We highly value and appreciate our bilateral relations, distinguished by their unique and multifaceted nature. Last year, together with our Ethiopian colleagues, we did plenty of good work to qualitatively improve our interaction. This year, there is much more of it ahead of us. In its turn, the Embassy, as a vital link in the cooperation between the two countries, including their government bodies, relevant agencies and economic structures, is making every effort to properly ensure the expansion of partnership between Russia and Ethiopia across the broadest possible spectrum of areas and facilitate the establishment of numerous working contacts with Ethiopian partners. One of the effective tools for the enhancement of our interaction is the Intergovernmental Russian-Ethiopian Commission on Economic, Scientific, Technical and Trade Cooperation, the next meeting of which is scheduled for the first half of this year. Given the mutual sincere interest of our states in strengthening our partnership in a wide range of areas, I have no doubt that we will be able to achieve the desired results.
Recently, the Ethiopian Diplomatic week was held in Addis Ababa. The exhibition organized on this occasion at the Science Museum leaves no one untouched, serving as a valuable source of information about the rich history of Ethiopian diplomacy. Outstanding talent and a deep commitment of Ethiopian diplomats to their country and people, as well as their highest professional level deserve admiration and great respect. I am availing myself of this opportunity to express gratitude to my dear Ethiopian colleagues for our joint work and interaction and wish all of us further success in our difficult but extremely interesting diplomatic craft.
By H.E. Mr. Evgeny Terekhin,
Ambassador of Russia to Ethiopia