Russia to set up centre in Islamabad to assist with student enrolments

Islamabad:Russia on Friday announced it would establish a centre in Islamabad to assist students seeking admission to its educational institutions, especially universities.

It also said it would organise an expo in Pakistan to enhance bilateral educational cooperation and promote technology-based industrial linkages. The announcement came from a high-level Russian delegation during a visit to the Ministry of Education and Professional Training here.

The delegates were led by Russian state secretary and deputy education minister Andrey Korneev and deputy science and higher education minister Konstantin Mogilevsky and included a consultant from the Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education, an associate professor of the Ural State Pedagogical University Yekaterinburg, and representatives of the Russian Embassy in Islamabad.

Education secretary Mohyuddin Ahmad Wani briefed them on Pakistan's educational achievements and challenges, and the government's efforts to address them. The discussions focused on enhancing educational cooperation, building on the positive developments of the last two decades.

Both sides explored various aspects of educational cooperation, explored ways to enhance it, and expressed commitment to promoting bilateral educational exchanges, especially between Pakistani and Russian universities. The Pakistani officials called for more collaborations between Pakistani and Russian universities, particularly in the fields of emerging technologies, while the Russian deputy minister emphasised initiatives to promote the Russian language in Pakistan and enhance educational links.

Both sides agreed to develop plans for discussion in the Joint Working Group Meeting scheduled for October 2024, with 2025 anticipated to be a year of significant collaboration between the two countries.

They later exchanged momentos. Later, the delegates visited Islamabad College for Girls F-6/2 along with the ministry and Federal Directorate of Education officials, who briefed them on initiatives to further the cause of formal learning in Islamabad. They highlighted the available learning facilities, especially Google for Education Centre of Excellence - a transformation of traditional classroom - and a modern software technology park or e-Rozgaar centre meant to foster a vibrant tech ecosystem.