COL hosts Russian Ambassador in a dialogue session
The Deanship of the College of Languages received his Excellency the Ambassador of the Russian Federation in Baghdad, Mr. Kotrashev Elbrus Kirillovich, on Wednesday, September 18, 2024,. His visit was to participate in the dialogue session held in the Martyr Fouad Al-Bayati Hall, in the presence of the assistant deans, heads of the academic departments, and a host of professors, employees and students of the college .
During the session, the Russian Ambassador discussed a number of issues that would support academic and cultural aspects between Iraq and Russia, saying that “ The real investment of an individual is in the knowledge he possesses, and I consider it the highest value in life.” He also touched on the strong relationship between the two nations through cooperation between Russian and Iraqi universities; as the number of Iraqi students studying in Russian universities reaches approximately five thousand students .
Moreover, he praised the efforts of the professors in the Department of Russian Language for their role in spreading the Russian language and its literature,; as the Russian language is considered to be one of the most difficult languages in the world to learn.
In this regard, the cultural aspe ct prevailed in this occasion of the eightieth anniversary of Iraqi-Russian relations. The ambassador stated that what matters to us is the long-term knowledge investment, and he explained Russia’s efforts to develop the scientific aspects for the professors and students of the Department of Russian Language. Facing all challenges that is going through, Russia still supporting the scientific and academic aspects by allocating grants to Iraqi students to have the chance to study in the Russian Federation.
During the session , interventions were made by the attendees regarding the necessity of opening the Russian Cultural Center in Baghdad in order to strengthen the Russian Iraqi cultural ties and activities.
On his part, Prof. Dr. Ali Adnan Mushawash, the Dean of the College, spoke about the invitation he received to attend the Chechen State Pedagogical University conference as a representative of the President of the University of Baghdad, considering it a glimmer of hope for the return of cultural and scientific relations between Iraqi and Russian universities, as well as the agreement to hold a Russian language week in Iraq .
The Dean called for similar action to be taken regarding accepting Russian students in Iraq within the context of the initiative by the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Dr. Naeem Al-Aboudi (Study in Iraq). This initiative serves as a good response for the scholarships already provided by the Russian side to Iraqi students. According to this initiative, facilities will be provided for those who want to learn Arabic for a period of six months, housing and exemption from tuition fees will be included .
On the sidelines of the visit, the Russian Ambassador met with the professors of the Department of Russian Language in the presence of the head of the department, Dr. Hadeel Ismail, and a large number of professors who welcomed this importance visit, which enhances the academic and cultural cooperation .
The dialogue session was moderated by Professor Dr. Hisham Ali Hussein from the Department of Russian Language.
