Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia Ngo Duc Manh had a meeting with of Vice Rector of the Lomonosov Moscow State University (MGU), the top ranked university in Russia, Sergey Sakhrai in Moscow on March 2, discussing new cooperation directions.

Vietnamese Ambassador Ngo Duc Manh (centre) and Vice Rector of the Lomonosov Moscow State University Sergey Sakhrai (second, left) at the meeting on March 2

As MGU is directly subordinate to the Russian Government and not under the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia, it is not among the universities having joined in training programmes with Vietnam.

Ambassador Manh, a former student of MGU, highly valued the school’s training quality, adding that he wants to expand opportunities for Vietnamese undergraduates and postgraduates to study at this top university of Russia.

Sergey Sakhrai noted only the students with the best academic results are admitted to MGU, and the two sides need specific agreements so that Vietnamese students can enroll in the university. There are only few Vietnamese students at MGU at present, but it is ready to welcome talented Vietnamese with outstanding achievements in learning and research.

He added that to export Russian education as tasked by President V. Putin, MGU and its member specialized colleges are expanding and diversifying training cooperation, including cooperating with foreign prestigious universities, exchanging guest lecturers, and carrying out joined projects. MGU signed memoranda of understanding on cooperation with the Vietnam National University – Hanoi, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, and the Academy of Journalism and Communication of Vietnam.

The vice rector also suggested a law university be opened in coordination with MGU.

At the meeting, the two sides mentioned a project on providing legal knowledge aid for Vietnamese students. Through an agreement between MGU’s law faculty and the Vietnamese Embassy, students from the Southeast Asian nation can receive free legal aid whenever they have problems while studying in Russia.

Ambassador Manh applauded this idea and promised to step up the realisation of this initiative in the time ahead, noting that the number of Vietnamese students here increases by nearly 1,000 each year. Such a practical support will be very helpful for both students and managerial agencies.

During the event, the two sides also discussed other directions for specialised cooperation such as in economy and auditing. They agreed to promote the organisation of forums, conferences and consultations to help enhance Vietnam-Russia relations.-VNA