MOSCOW, October 26. /TASS/. The Russian Foreign Ministry considers cooperation with the leading national energy companies to be a priority, the ministry said following the signing of an agreement on cooperation on Monday by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and President of Rosneft Igor Sechin.

"Russia is a leading player in the global energy market," the Russian Foreign Ministry said. "Taking this into account, the Russian Foreign Ministry considers interaction with the leading national energy companies to be a priority. Together with them, it is actively involved in the implementation of Russia’s energy strategy, promotes investment in the Russian fuel and energy complex and expanding the geography of exports of Russian hydrocarbons."

The Russian Foreign Ministry noted that "the practice of signing such documents by the ministry and business structures was not entirely new." It recalled that agreements had been signed earlier with Russia’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, the Association of Russian Banks, the Union of Oil and Gas Producers, Vnesheconombank, JSC Russian Railways, Lukoil and Norilsk Nickel companies.

"Thus, the legal and institutional basis is formed for effective cooperation between the Russian Foreign Ministry and the above-mentioned organizations in protecting interests of Russian businesses abroad, which acquires more relevance in the context of the sanctions pressure on Russia from a number of Western countries," the ministry said. It voiced confidence that the agreement on cooperation between the Russian Foreign Ministry and Rosneft "would be of great help for this kind of interaction and would increase the efficiency of joint efforts on outer tracks."