On Monday, April 10, “The IV Week of Russian Diplomacy” started at the Regional Centre for Development of Public Diplomacy and International Relations named after Yevgeniy M. Primakov.

This year it is dedicated to the prospects of the BRICS development in global governance, as well as to the issues of interstate cooperation in the framework of trade and economic relations. It should be reminded that in 2024 Russia will lead the BRICS interstate association, and the central events will be held in the Volga Federal District – in Kazan.

According to Vladimir Bogatyrev, Rector of Samara National Research University named after Sergey P. Korolev, the development of international relations is one of the main components of promoting Russian education abroad and strengthening partnerships in science, technology and innovation.

“By establishing the Regional Centre for Development of Public Diplomacy and International Relations named after Yevgeniy M. Primakov and holding such events as “The Week of Russian Diplomacy”, the university solves an important task – it establishes contacts with leading Russian and foreign institutions, embassies of different states for the development of inter-university cooperation and external relations of the Samara region. In addition, students studying at Samara University in the department of “International Relations”, have the opportunity to communicate with representatives of the professional diplomatic community on topical issues of the foreign policy agenda”, – emphasized the rector.

Alexey Chupakhin, representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry in Samara, noted that the events of “The Week of Russian Diplomacy” are important, first of all, for the students of Samara University: “Now BRICS unites 40% of the world’s population, and there are candidates to join this organization, so the issues and problems that are solved at such a high level are very important for the world”.

Dmitry Abramov, Head of the Department of Investment, Innovation Policy and External Economic Relations of the Ministry of Economic Development and Investment of the Samara Region, agrees with him:

“The regional government pays close attention to the training of specialists in international relations, because this is an important capacity for the Samara region – there is a demand for them from both government agencies and business. Our region actively interacts with the external space, with foreign countries, it is export-oriented, so the training of international relations students is one of the most important focuses of our support. For young people it is a great experience, an opportunity to ask questions to the leaders”.

This year, among the participants of “The Week of Russian Diplomacy” are Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Brazil to Russia Rodrigo de Lima Baena Soares, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia to the Republic of South Africa and part-time Ambassador to the Kingdom of Lesotho Ilya Rogachev, Ambassador-at-Large of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Russia’s sous-sheriff in BRICS Pavel Knyazev, Acting Director of the Institute of China and Modern Asia RAS Kirill Babaev, Acting Director of the Institute of Latin America RAS Dmitry Rosenthal and other immersed experts and scholars immersed in the issues.

Appealing to the forum participants, Farit Mukhametshin, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs, noted that it has become a good tradition to hold “The Week of Russian Diplomacy” at Samara University:

“Russia acts as one of the sovereign centers of global development, and carries out a mission to maintain the global balance of power in a multipolar world. The Federation Council attaches great importance to cooperation with the BRICS countries. On the agenda is the issue of strengthening trade and economic relations with the countries of this bloc”.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Brazil to Russia Rodrigo de Lima Baena Soares welcomed the participants of “The Week of Russian Diplomacy”.

Addressing the students, Kirill Babaev, Acting Director of the Institute of China and Modern Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences, noted that today is a particularly interesting time for those who are just beginning their path in diplomacy:

“A completely new system of international relations is taking shape new meanings and new ideas. Russia plays one of the defining roles in the new system. The world is in need of completely new instruments, and our country’s foreign policy is facing challenges of a global nature. The questions on the agenda are: what will be the diplomatic world of the future and what will be Russia’s place in global politics?

Source: Samara University