Priority areas in the work of the foreign policy department are the support of integration processes in the CIS, making relations between the CIS and Russia as attractive as possible, and cooperation with European countries and the U.S.A.
It is also necessary to expand the horizons of Russian foreign policy, and to find new possibilities for cooperation, not forgetting about maintaining and developing the position in Central and Eastern Europe, in the Middle East, in Africa and in Latin America.
Furthermore, embassies and other foreign representative offices should take an active role in forming an unprejudiced, favourable impression of Russia’s domestic and foreign policy, about its history, culture and current development.
At the same time, diplomacy today should also assist in solving national tasks, such as increasing the competitiveness of the Russian economy, fundamentally increasing GDP, and integrating Russia into the world economic system.
Mr Putin also discussed issues of organizational and material provision of the diplomatic service.