St Petersburg University and the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Tajikistan sign a cooperation agreement

The cooperation agreement includes provisions for the participation in joint projects aimed at professional training of qualified specialists in the fields of industry; culture; health care; and medical law. It is also planned to develop student exchange and academic mobility programmes; conduct research; create online courses and promote them on popular online learning platforms in Russia and Tajikistan.

Currently, 64 citizens of Tajikistan are studying at St Petersburg University.

In his address, First Deputy Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Tajikistan Dr Jurazoda Jamshed Habibullo noted that relations between our countries continue to develop dynamically for the benefit of our countries. He added that the popularity of schools that offer Russian language courses among school students in Tajikistan is growing every year. ‘The Russian Federation is our strategic partner, and today our two countries seek to expand cooperation in all spheres, especially in education. We know that St Petersburg University is the oldest and one of the most influential universities in Russia. We are happy to collaborate with St Petersburg University,’ said Dr Jurazoda Jamshed Habibullo.

Rector Nikolay Kropachev stressed that St Petersburg University remains an active participant in international research and academic activities. Currently, the University is expanding its international activities with a particular focus on establishing partnerships with leading educational and research organisations in friendly countries. ‘I would like our relations to develop and become strong and fruitful,’ Nikolay Kropachev said.

I do hope that we will make a quick leap forward, and your country will be represented among the academic programmes offered by St Petersburg University no less than other countries in your region and also in the world.

Professor Nikolay Kropachev, Rector of St Petersburg University

Professor Kropachev also expressed his hope that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Tajikistan will provide support in expanding and popularising academic exchange programmes for an even greater influx of students from Tajikistan.

He reminded that St Petersburg University — for the fifth year in a row — has been leading the list of most popular universities in Russia among international applicants. In the 2022 Admissions Campaign, the competition reached 21 applications per place, and currently, citizens from over 90 countries are studying at the University.

In order to attract applicants from overseas, St Petersburg University takes advantage of its cultural potential; in particular, through implementing the project "Representative Offices of St Petersburg University". Thanks to the work of representative offices operating in: Spain; Italy; Greece; Türkiye; Iran; the Republic of Korea; China; and Uzbekistan, more foreign citizens learn about the opportunities of higher education in the Russian Federation, and more students of St Petersburg University can participate in student exchange programmes.

In addition, Rector Nikolay Kropachev proposed to create joint academic programmes that would focus on the study of the language, culture and history of the Republic of Tajikistan. In recent years, the number of programmes with an international component at the University has increased several times, and today, there are some 90 academic programmes with a Chinese component alone.

St Petersburg University implements programmes with Japanese, Korean, Hungarian and other components. Among them are: "Law with Advanced Studies of Chinese Language and Law"; "Organisation of Tourist Activities (with Advanced Study of the Chinese Language)"; and "Economics (with Advanced Studies of the Economy of China and the Chinese Language)".

‘The legal base for Russia-Tajikistan relations counts around 260 interstate and intergovernmental agreements that cover practically all areas of cooperation, from technical cooperation to major social and educational projects. In this context, the growing interest of young people in receiving education in Russian is very important,’ said Mr Nazari Homidjon Temur, Consul General of the Republic of Tajikistan in St Petersburg, who took part in the event. ‘I am certain that today’s cooperation agreement will be instrumental in further strengthening of the partnership relations between the Republic of Tajikistan and St Petersburg’. He noted that today we have every opportunity to implement the discussed plans and enhance the existing partnership. Mr Nazari Homidjon Temur assured that the Consulate General of Tajikistan is ready to render all possible assistance to St Petersburg University for implementation of joint projects.