Promoting Development of International Cooperation

27.05.2023

Promoting Development of International Cooperation

From May 24 to May 26, representatives of Institute of International Education of Tula State University - director Olga Dmitrievna Gladkova and 4th year student of "General Medicine" program Mustafa Abdulhalem from Iraq took part in the International Student Scientific and Practical Conference "Russia and the Countries of the Arab World: Prospects for Cooperation in the Field of Education and Culture” at Belgorod State National Research University.

The event was held thanks to support from Gorchakov Foundation to implement initiatives in the field of public diplomacy aimed at promoting the development of international cooperation and creating a favorable social, political and business climate for Russia abroad.

The conference brought together representatives of diplomatic missions, intergovernmental and public organizations, foreign and Russian educational organizations.

On the first day of the conference, at the plenary session, representatives of Gorchakov Foundation, the Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt in the Russian Federation, the Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic in the Russian Federation, the Embassy of the Republic of Iraq in the Russian Federation, the Embassy of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in the Russian Federation, the Embassy of the State of Palestine in the Russian Federation, representative offices of Rossotrudnichestvo in the Syrian Arab Republic, the Eurasian Peoples’ Assembly, the Branch of the Alquds Open University, the League of Arab States, the Association of Foreign Students of Russia, the Sergey Yesenin Center for Russian Language and Culture of the Al-Istiqlal University, the Development Fund of the Krasnodar Territory, the Sadat Academy of Administrative Sciences, Tula State University addressed the participants with a welcoming speeches.

During the plenary session, director of Institute of International Education O.D. Gladkova read to the organizers, guests and participants of the conference "Russia and the countries of the Arab world: prospects for cooperation in the field of education and culture" a welcome address from the vice-rector of Tula State University for international affairs and project management Olesya Evgenievna Labadze and presented to the audience a brief report on the interaction of the university with the countries of the Middle East and North Africa.

The second day of the conference was completely devoted to the work of three sections: "Historical Factors and Political Aspects of the Dialogue between the Russian Federation and the Arab States", "Education as an Area of Interaction: Understanding the Russian-Arab Partnership", "Culture as a Space for Rapprochement between Russian and Arab Societies".

At the invitation of the organizers of the conference, director of Institute of International Education O.D. Gladkova also took part as an expert and moderator in the section "Historical Factors and Political Aspects of the Dialogue between the Russian Federation and the Arab States".

At the section "Culture as a Space for Rapprochement between Russian and Arab Society", student Mustafa Abdulhalem presented his report on the topic "Russian-Iraqi Interaction in the Field of Medicine in the Context of the Historical and Cultural Interaction between the Two Countries", in which he noted the initial "light" and spiritual richness of Russian and Eastern cultures, which are also manifested in the field of medicine. He also studied open sources and described cases when Iraqi doctors helped people and brought “light”to Russia, and Russians - to Iraq.

Mustafa Abdulhalem: “The conference, among other things, was a platform for strengthening ties between the Russian Federation and the countries of the Arab world, both through the participation of the graduates of Soviet and Russian universities in it, and through the communication of the modern generation of students on the current agenda of interaction between our countries.”

The conference ended with a concert of Arabic and Russian cultures, as well as an excursion for its participants and guests to the third military field of Russia in the Prokhorovskoye Field State Military Historical Museum-Reserve.

Olga Gladkova