Dialogue on Equals

As part of the XIV Eurasian Economic Youth Forum, a Dialogue on Equals took place at Ural State University of Economics - a meeting of the diplomatic corps of the Russian Federation and students.

The topic of the meeting was “Russia - a Territory of Opportunities for Foreign Youth.” Opening the event, USUE rector Yakov Silin noted that Dialogue on Equals was one of the key events of the EEYF:

“This is a dialogue between diplomats and students. We invite everyone, who is interested in good joint development, to come in. Russia is a country of opportunities for young people; there is huge space here to realize their potential. Our country comprises hundreds of cultures, languages, and traditions. The brotherhood of peoples has always been an advantage of our state, even despite the unprecedented sanctions and information wars waged against Russia by a number of unfriendly countries.”

According to Yakov Silin, over 350 thousand international students are studying at Russian universities today, and their number is constantly growing. Most of the students are from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Belarus, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, and Moldova. At the same time, the absolute leader is the PRC (32 thousand students), and the champions in terms of growth are India and Egypt. The most popular areas among foreigners are medicine, engineering, and economics.

The number of foreigners coming to study in Yekaterinburg is also increasing every year. Today, there are 9 thousand students from 120 countries. Over 2.8 thousand students from 69 countries study at Ural State University of Economics.

The USUE rector emphasized that Russia could become a home for all people of good will, and the Urals, connecting the West and East, is right in the middle of Eurasia, therefore, we are always open to dialogue, to dialogue on equal terms!

Plenipotentiary ambassadors of foreign states, advisers, envoys, officials of embassies and consulates general in the Russian Federation were present at the USUE House of Culture as speakers and guests of honor. The Dialogue on Equals was moderated by the President of the Association of International Students, Issa Shaabo: “Diplomats play an important role in providing comfortable conditions for foreigners to live and study in Russia, and our today’s Dialogue involves representatives of 114 countries.”

“The Dialogue on Equals implies no supremacy and presupposes a respect for the interlocutor and his opinion,” Alexander Kharlov, a representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry in Yekaterinburg, said. According to him, a unipolar world did not imply any dialogue, but the events of recent years have shown that the future lies in equal relations. In due course, many of the countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America will become centers of multipolarity. No outside instructions will stop this process.

“Over 160 nationalities live in our region,” Lyudmila Berg, acting Minister of International and Foreign Economic Relations of the Sverdlovsk region, recalled. “We occupy third place among the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in the number of representative offices of foreign states. The development of fruitful relations with the countries of Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and Africa meets our common interests, contributes to the economic growth of the region, and improves the quality of life of people. In addition, our region is implementing large international projects to study the Russian language and culture.”

Lyudmila Berg also noted the huge contribution of USUE to establishing international relations in economy, education, science and culture. Over the years, EEYF has grown into the largest world-class event that brings together talented, educated, creative youth, ready and capable of changing the world for the better.

It is worth noting that foreign students in Russia both receive higher education and master the Russian language. An African student, Kerim, studying economics, admitted that more than anything else in the world he likes to play chess. Ural State University of Economics provides an excellent opportunity to constantly improve the level of one’s skills.

Vladimir Kuznetsov, director of the UN Information Center in Moscow thinks that Yekaterinburg has long proved itself to be a follower and advocate of the basic principles of the United Nations. And Ural State University of Economics is a long-time partner of the Moscow UN center. At the same time, it is one of the key economic universities in Russia. It has become a factory of professionals, the best domestic and foreign scientists and practitioners.

Vladimir Kuznetsov also drew attention to the global dangers that threaten the world community today: “They say that the UN was established to prevent hell on earth. Unfortunately, humanity today is teetering on the brink of the most negative scenarios. Tensions are rising, humanitarian needs have reached critical levels, and the scale of climate crisis is massive. The conflict in the Middle East is perhaps the hottest topic discussed throughout the world. These and other challenges need to be overcome today. Young people can always offer an innovative solution in this regard.”

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Cuba to Russia, Julio Antonio Garmendia Peña and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Congo to the Russian Federation Ivan Vangu Ngimbi told students about the difficulties the countries of Latin America and Africa are experiencing in confronting the centuries-old colonial dictatorship of the West. Both are confident that the future is at stake today and called on young people to fight for the creation of a multipolar world in which international law and human rights will be respected by everyone.

Vice-Rector for International Cooperation of Tashkent Financial University Alimnazar Islamkulov is confident that every young person has potential, and a system of high-quality education is not only a way to personal success, but also a powerful tool for changing the life of society and solving global challenges of humanity.

Anicet Gabriel Kotchofa, former plenipotentiary ambassador of the Republic of Benin to the Russian Federation, the founder and first president of the Association of International Students of Russia, agrees with him: “Once upon a time, during the Soviet Union, I arrived to Russia, without a suitcase, without things and without money, and entered a college in Moscow, received high-quality education, and today I teach students myself. I married a Russian girl, we raised children. My fate proves that Russia is undoubtedly a country of great opportunities. In this country, I learned to love people. Fifteen years ago, I first flew to Yekaterinburg and visited Ural State University of Economics. At that time, no one from far abroad studied here. And today 2,800 students from 69 countries receive education here! All of them are ambassadors of their countries to Russia, native speakers of language and culture. When a student studies abroad, he becomes a bridge between the culture of his country and the culture of the host country. And this diversity is the basis of mutual understanding in the field of international relations.”

At the Dialogue on Equals, an agreement was signed between USUE and Mudanjiang Normal University. This is one of the leading educational institutions in the southeast of Heilongjiang Province (PRC). The document was signed by Yakov Silin and the first vice-rector of the Chinese university, Zhang Bin. 

The agreement provides for a joint educational project “2+2”, training of bachelors of law, implementation of various educational and scientific programs, academic mobility of students, teaching and research staff, as well as innovative activities.

“It is a great honor to represent China among the 114 participating countries,” Zhang Bing said. “Many thanks to USUE, we hope for fruitful cooperation.” As Yakov Silin said, such agreements inspire hope that together we can do much more for our countries, for our youth. It’s a small step, but it’s a step forward. The long road begins with such steps.

The XIV EEYF takes place from April 22 to April 26, 2024 at Ural State University of Economics in Yekaterinburg. Over 17 thousand people take part in it: these are Russian and international students, diplomats, rectors of leading universities in Russia and the world, and famous economics experts.