Oriented on making people closer

An online meeting and lectures were held in the premises of the country’s diplomatic university, during which the issues related to the world culture, friendly relations and mutually beneficial cooperation between Turkmenistan and Russia were discussed.

The event was attended by rectors of universities - Jumamyrat Gurbangeldyev, Institute of International Relations (IIR) under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, and Sergey Vdovin, National Research Mordovian State University named after N.P. Ogarev.

In his speech, the head of the Turkmen university has briefed the participants of the meeting with the priority directions of the country’s president’s policy – the development of friendly relations and cooperation with neighboring states, including the Russian Federation as one of the strategic partners of Turkmenistan.

“Approving the Concept of the Foreign Policy Course of Neutral Turkmenistan for 2017-2023, President Berdimuhamedov highlighted that the Russian Federation is a strategic partner of Turkmenistan. Cooperation with Russia, both on a bilateral basis and within the framework of international organizations, has proven its effectiveness, as well as the fact that it meets the fundamental interests of both countries. Thus, the Turkmen leader defined specific goals of activities aimed at further development of relations,” the rector of the IIR noted.

In turn, the head of the Mordovian State University Sergey Vdovin emphasized the importance of continuing cooperation with Turkmenistan this year, which proclaimed by the UN General Assembly as the “International Year of Peace and Trust”.

– We see that representatives of the world community support the importance and timeliness of this initiative put forward by the President of Turkmenistan. It certainly contributes to the promotion of friendly ties between partner countries, maintaining peace, stability and mutual understanding between the two peoples, which is the key to sustainable development.

In his speech, Mr. Sergei Vdovin said that it is necessary to establish cooperation between research and educational institutions at the international level, which allows for effective search for ways to jointly address pressing issues and tackle to modern challenges.

The head of the Russian university, having noted that the university he heads is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year, said that more than 20% of the university’s student society are foreigners, including citizens of Turkmenistan. This is the second largest student diaspora at the university after India, added Sergey Mikhailovich.

During the online meeting, issues of joint research and publications of researchers and teachers in the field of international law and regional studies were considered. It was noted that these studies could serve as a basis for expanding economic cooperation at the interregional level.

“The exchange of best practices in teaching foreign languages, cooperation in the field of professional training and retraining in various disciplines, including the Russian language, will be very mutually beneficial. Here we are also ready to provide serious assistance. Implementation of educational programs in a network format, in the field of sustainable development, international law and political science can be effective form of interaction,” continued Sergey Vdovin.

The rector of the IIR under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, Jumamyrat Gurbangeldyev, in turn, proposed expanding the framework of cooperation in the field of personnel training and exchange of experience in relevant areas of scientific activity and concluding a Memorandum of Understanding between universities.

“The draft memorandum will cover the main areas of cooperation between our universities. I propose, in the future to assist our teachers in publishing articles in various scientific publications, to organize lectures by prominent professors of your university for our students. Today’s lecture is the first step in this direction. For our part, we propose to organize online lectures by our experienced university professors and diplomats who have been working in the diplomatic missions of Turkmenistan abroad for many years,” continued J. Gurbangeldyev

The importance of active using the opportunity to participate in conferences organized at the sites of scientific and educational organizations of Russia and Turkmenistan, which would allow maintaining effective dialogue on topical international issues of mutual interest and promoting the dissemination of research results and achievements of scientists, was also emphasized.

In addition, the forum participants discussed topics on the exchange of experience in teaching foreign languages, training future cadres of international journalists. They noted the significant potential for cooperation in conducting joint research and implementing educational initiatives in the field of sustainable development, including within the framework of international programs in which applications for participation in international competitions can be submitted.

At the end of the online meeting, the participants came to the mutually beneficial conclusion that the sphere of interests and prospects for cooperation between the two countries is obvious and there are areas in which significant progress can be made.

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