Team work strengthening confidence between Russia, Armenia in rapidly  changing world - MGIMO Rector 

ArmInfo. Joint efforts to  expand humanitarian cooperation contribute to strengthening trust  between Armenia and Russia in the context of a rapidly changing world.  This was noted in the welcoming letter  of Moscow Institute  of International Relations (MGIMO) Rector, member of the Presidium of  the Russian Academy of Sciences and Ambassador Extraordinary and  Plenipotentiary Anatoly Torkunov, which was read by the university's  Vice-Rector Stanislav Surovtsev on December 11 as part of the  conference "Armenia and Russia in the Context of Global and Regional  Reformatting: Lessons and Strategic Choice". 

As Torkunov noted in his letter, the conference brings together  renowned scientists and experts from Russia and Armenia, and the  composition of the participants allows for an expert-level discussion  of current issues of international integration, their impact on  Russian-Armenian relations and regional processes. According to him,  scientific and expert diplomacy is called upon to facilitate the  search for new and standard solutions in the context of international  instability and significant challenges. In this regard, he noted that  special gratitude is due to the activities of the All-Armenian  Council of Diplomats, which organizes bilateral expert work at a high  professional level.

"Russian diplomacy and Armenian culture have deep historical roots.  In 2025, we will celebrate 210 years since the founding of the  Lazarev Institute of Oriental Languages, which has become a forge of  orientalists and diplomats. Joint efforts to expand humanitarian  cooperation strengthen trust between Armenia and Russia in a dynamic  world. I am confident that the conference will become a platform for  a productive exchange of opinions, the development of new ideas and  the consolidation of the expert community of our countries in the  interests of developing bilateral relations," Torkunov noted in his  letter, recalling that the founders of the institute were the  Armenian entrepreneurs, the Lazarev brothers. 

In turn, Stanislav Surovtsev, Vice-Rector for Youth Policy, Social  Work and International Relations at MGIMO, recalled that in 2023, 250  quotas for free education were allocated to Armenian students, and  next year, according to him, this number will increase significantly.  Thus, in 2023, more than 5,000 students from Armenia studied at  Russian universities.

"It is important to note that interest in education in Russian  remains in Armenia. MGIMO University attaches great importance to  Russian-Armenian cooperation. Currently, MGIMO graduate students  study Armenian for free. There are currently 37 students from Armenia  studying at the university, and since the mid-1990s, more than two  hundred Armenian students have graduated from it," Surovtsev added.

The Vice-Rector also emphasized that cooperation between the  countries can contribute to expanding access to the south-eastern  direction, including the sphere of education and expert  communications. "The process of changes in the world order, as in  previous historical periods, is accompanied by the emergence of new  problems, divisions and conflicts. Therefore, it is especially  important to support politicized communication channels to find  mutually beneficial solutions. The development of Russian-Armenian  cooperation, despite all the difficulties, is strategically  justified. It can become a reliable basis for effective participation  in the processes of a changing world," Surovtsev summarized.