Russia-Egypt cooperation in education is increasingly deepening, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Egypt Mohamed Ayman Ashour told Sputnik Africa on the sidelines of the II International Forum of Ministers of Education in Russia’s Kazan.
Universities in the two countries are actively collaborating; for example, branches of Russian high schools have been established in the African country, the minister noted.
“Also, we discussed together how to increase the number of universities by establishing a new consortium in the new city of Borg El Arab, in the north of Egypt, also to boost other universities from Russia in order to give good new [educational] programs in Egypt. We discussed the new programs in the new technological universities and how to connect between the technological universities here in Russia and in Egypt,” he said.
Russia and Egypt are also discussing the introduction of hard science programs at Egyptian universities to support the technological part of the El Dabaa nuclear power plant in the northern part of the country.
“We also started to negotiate and agree together for the new corporation and protocol between our ministry in Egypt and the Ministry of Higher Education here in Russia, and we are looking forward to the cooperation,” the minister concluded.
During the forum, the parties held a meeting where the Minister of Science and Higher Education of Russia, Valery Falkov, noted that Russia highly values the long-standing relationship between the two countries (last year marked the 80th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations), during which "a great deal has been achieved thanks to well-structured relations in the scientific and educational sphere."
In turn, Ashour noted the high level of Russian education, reminding that he is a graduate of the postgraduate program at the Moscow Architectural Institute.
Today, there are 118 agreements and memoranda in the field of science and higher education between universities in Russia and Egypt, 56 of which were signed in 2023, and 19 more are planned for this year.
Examples of active collaboration between the two countries include the branches of Saint Petersburg State University and Kazan (Volga) Federal University opened in Cairo, where more than 750 students are studying.
Cooperation in the scientific sphere is also developing. At the moment, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Russia is evaluating applications for a new competitive selection of joint applied scientific research projects with African countries, including Egypt.
The II International Forum of Ministers of Education is organized by the Ministry of Education of Russia, the Government of the Republic of Tatarstan, and the Foundation for the Support of Humanitarian Sciences, "My History."