Ties with Uzbekistan

Their visit was primarily for the opening of a joint study centre with Qarshi State University, and to inaugurate a Fine Arts program. They signed more agreements with the leadership there, before meeting with senior staff at the Qarshi Engineering-Economics Institute for more productive talks. Thence on to Samarkand to meet with colleagues from Samarkand State University, the Silk Road International University of Tourism, and the Samarkand State Institute of Foreign Languages. The busy trip was rounded off with a visit to Tashkent, where they met with Rossotrudnichestvo, the service for Russian citizens and businesses abroad, at the Russian Cultural Centre. They discussed ways to attract more Uzbeks to study in the Russian Federation. They also invited all their new friends to join us in late May for the 4^th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation University Youth Forum, hosted by Belgorod State University.