Russia is seeking to expand education cooperation with India and explore new areas of collaboration, Russian Ambassador Denis Alipov said at the second Russia-India Education Summit in New Delhi on Thursday.

Addressing the summit, Alipov said education cooperation between the two countries should go beyond universities and include schools, language and cultural programmes, student aspirations, and future industries and professions.

He said Russian universities were already engaging with Indian schools through Olympiads, online courses, student exchanges and educational initiatives aimed at introducing students to opportunities in Russia at an early stage.

Alipov also stressed the need for progress on the mutual recognition of educational qualifications, saying a bilateral agreement in this area was essential to strengthen cooperation further.

Highlighting the growing educational ties between the two countries, the envoy said Russia currently hosts around 300,000 international students, including nearly 40,000 from India. He added that Russia aims to increase the number of international students to 500,000 by 2030.

He said academic exchanges and joint research initiatives between India and Russia were steadily expanding and described education as one of the strongest bridges between nations.

The ambassador also announced that an education fair featuring Russian and Indian universities, students, researchers and young professionals would be held on Friday to showcase academic programmes, internships, research opportunities and career pathways.

Later, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the event, Alipov said India and Russia shared a longstanding tradition of cooperation in the education sector and that both countries were now looking to build on that foundation.

He said the number of Indian students studying in Russia had increased and Russian universities were visiting India to explore new opportunities.

“There are many domains in which we can go forward together, so that education becomes an even stronger pillar of the overall strategic partnership between our countries,” he said.

Inputs from PTI

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