Syrian-Russian scientific and practical conference held in Damascus

Damascus, (ST) –  On the sidelines of the fourth joint Syrian-Russian meeting to follow up on the international conference on the return of refugees and displaced Syrians, the Russian Presidential Affairs Department held on Wednesday a Syrian-Russian scientific and practical conference under the title, “Syria and Russia, Cultural and Educational Foundations of Cooperation” at the Dama Rose Hotel in Damascus.

In a speech at the opening of the conference, Deputy Director of the Presidency of the Russian Federation Lakina Olga Yuryevna said that, the Syrian-Russian bilateral relations have a long history that must be developed, especially since the first teachers of the Arabic language in Russia were from Syria. He added that the Russian language was introduced into the Syrian curricula as a second foreign language during the 2014-2015 school year.

Yuryevna pointed to the cooperation between Moscow State University and Damascus University for academic exchange, holding various joint scientific events and various courses, and organizing workshops and conferences to talk about the culture and traditions of the two peoples. He indicated that a new project for humanitarian cooperation has been launched and the coordination and cooperation between educational institutions is taking place within the framework of national support from the Government of the Russian Federation.

In her turn, the Minister of Culture, Dr. LubanaMushawah stressed in her speech that the meeting that is being held in Syria with Russian friends is to enhance the bonds of cooperation between the two friendly peoples and to raise cultural and educational relations to the level of political relations.

Minister Mushawah said that, the agreements signed with the Russian side are a reflection of the sincere will to enhance cooperation between Syria and Russia.

Natalia Solovyova, the Director of the Archeology Rescue Center at the Institute of History and Material Culture spoke about the archaeological arch in Palmyra as a symbol of Syria and a prominent architectural landmark in the world, which was targeted by the terrorist organization (ISIS) in 2015.

Solovyova indicated that after the city of Palmyra was liberated from terrorism, the work of the first phase of the arch restoration project was started in 2021 in cooperation between the Center and the General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums in Syria and the Syrian Trust for Development, and this stage was completed.

General Director of Al-Assad National Library, IyadMurshid, presented an overview of the library as a guide to civilization and progress, as it was established to preserve information and the national intellectual and media heritage of the Syrian state. He pointed out that the library has turned into a documentation center for collecting theses and master’s theses for students in Syria.

Professor of Psychological and Academic Sciences at Moscow State University, Professor Sergey Kondivovich explained that the conference demonstrated the cultural, educational and intellectual capacity of the participants, as important agreements were signed that allow for later cooperation between the Syrian and Russian sides.

The conference included the signing of an agreement to strengthen cooperation relations between the Al-Assad National Library and the Presidential Library in the Russian Federation, and a cooperation agreement between Damascus University and Moscow State University.

Raghda Sawas