Putin’s India visit strengthens key educational partnership with new academic, research agreements

New Delhi: Russian President Vladimir Putin’s two-day state visit to India from December 4 to 5 has brought a strategic partnership between New Delhi and Moscow. His meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi resulted in a set of important agreements which also include expanding educational, scientific and academic cooperation.

The visit took place at a crucial time for India’s foreign policy. The India-Russia summit served as a signal of the two nations’ determination to strengthen ties. President Putin arrived for the annual bilateral summit where he discussed trade, defence and wider strategic cooperation. The visit offered an opportunity to reinforce the long-standing relationship and explore new areas of collaboration, especially in education, science, and research fields.

One of the major outcomes of the summit was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DIAT), Pune, and the National Tomsk State University, Tomsk.This MoU aims to enhance scientific cooperation, promote joint research and build academic exchanges between the two institutions.

Another significant agreement was concluded regarding cooperation between the University of Mumbai, Lomonosov Moscow State University, and the Management Company of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF). This partnership will facilitate joint programmes, collaborative projects, and new channels for student-faculty mobility between India and Russia.

The summit coincided with the opening of the Russian Education Agency in the national capital—a joint initiative by Synergy Corporation and Innopraktika.India. Marking the launch, Vadim Lobov, President of Synergy Corporation, called it an 'important day' for both countries. 'Today is a very important day for our country because we have waited for this visit for a long time. I am sure that new areas of collaboration will emerge. It will be a great step in strengthening the friendship between our countries', he stated.

'A lot of people from India come to study in Russia. Our agency will create a new bridge between the people of Russia and India. We are developing a comprehensive information programme to inform people about the opportunities to study in Russia, details about different universities, job prospects, and important professional skills', he further added.

Alongside academic agreements, India and Russia also signed a major pact focused on medical education and research cooperation. The accord aims to encourage the exchange of specialists, professors, and students. It also aims to uplift joint participation in global scientific conferences, collaborative medical research, sharing of regulatory and analytical data and development of structured programmes for training and capacity building.