Annually on February 10 Russia celebrates a professional holiday of the diplomatic staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation - the Diplomat's Day. It was established by a Decree of the President of the Russian Federation on October 31, 2002. This holiday testifies to the high recognition of diplomacy as a profession by the Russian state and its important role in the process of national development.
The history of Russian diplomacy has deep roots and today's Foreign Ministry fully maintains continuity with its predecessors and is engaged in consistent, multi-vector and pragmatic activities. At all stages the development of national diplomatic service, the Ministry has focused on upholding Russia's foreign policy interests at the international arena and facilitating consistent domestic development of the country.
The current world is changing rapidly, and with it the foreign policy of states in the new conditions is undergoing gradual changes. Russia, as well as other states has entered an acute phase of struggle for the right to lay down the basic principles of a new world order. The outcome of this process will determine the future of the world, which is steadily moving towards the formation of a polycentric multipolar order. It is objectively being created on an intercivilizational basis and will embody such a consent that will replace Western dominance with its unification, the imposition of its values and development models on other cultures. This will not be the great power policy of the past. It is no exaggeration to say that this will open up new horizons for diplomacy that history has not yet known. Violence, coercion and dictatorship of the past few centuries must sink into oblivion, since these methods are alien to all peoples of good will. States are called upon to negotiate on the basis of sovereign equality and non-interference in each other's affairs.
Such agreements and inevitable compromises are very essential for diplomacy. It is these fundamental questions of world existence that are being decided in the current conflict on the territory of Ukraine between the collective West and sovereign Russia, which is seen, as and indeed is incompatible with Western hegemony. Our sovereignty is an indispensable condition for the emancipation of all countries, and this is the World Majority/Global South, which is fighting against the remnants of neocolonialism. In relations with African countries, the Russian Federation continues to promote partnership cooperation in the field of politics and security, economics and trade, as well as in the humanitarian sphere, adhering to the approach of "African solutions to African problems" aimed at supporting the independence and sovereignty of the states of the continent.
By holding the first ministerial conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum on November 9-10, 2024, which most of African foreign ministers and the leadership of the African Union Commission and the executive bodies of regional integration associations attended, the Russian Federation confirmed the strategic level of cooperation between Russia and Africa aimed at promoting the formation of a fair and stable world order based on the principles of sovereign equality of states and non-interference in their internal affairs. The signed joint statements on ways to form a fair, transparent and equal system of international information security, on strengthening cooperation in the fight against terrorism, statements on topical issues of exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes testify to the intention of Russia and African countries to continue our strategic interaction in order to achieve a fair world order and ensure international peace and security for all states, regardless of differences in political, economic and social systems.
We share the same confidence with regard to partnership between Russia and Ethiopia and highly value, as well as appreciate our cordial and friendly bilateral relations, distinguished by their unique and multifaceted nature. Within last years, together with our Ethiopian partners, we did plenty of good work to qualitatively improve our interaction. Russia's chairmanship of BRICS in 2024 and Ethiopia's active participation in the association contributed to increased foreign policy coordination of the participating countries and the harmonious integration of Addis Ababa into all formats of the association's activities.
The expanding participation of Africa, in particular Ethiopia, in the BRICS process over the last year, as well as the strengthening of the continent's position represented by the African Union in the G20, indicate that the opportunities and alternative platforms provided by non-Western formats contribute to the sovereignty of African countries, opening up prospects for getting rid of neocolonial dependence and overcoming what is commonly called the "resource curse". The word "justice" is key in the discourse of African development, reflecting, among other things, the importance of affirming Africa's civilizational identity in the entire system of international relations, including the UN system and the issue of its reform, including its Security Council.
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In the conclusion, as we celebrate this professional day, I would like to take this opportunity to thank my friends and colleagues at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia for their unwavering support and assistance to the Embassy in fulfilling its duties. I am glad to certify that the positions of our countries are close or coincide on almost all acute modern issues. So, let me express my assertion that with joint efforts we will achieve new successes for the good of our peoples and countries.
The author, H.E. Mr. Evgeny Terekhin, is Ambassador of Russia to Ethiopia
Editor's Note: The views entertained in this article do not necessarily reflect the stance of The Ethiopian HeraldBY EVGENY TEREKHIN
