Dialogue between Russia and Mali: Polytechnic Issa Togo at a meeting with the Russian Foreign Ministry in St. Petersburg

Maxim Poletaev, representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry in St. Petersburg, held a protocol meeting with Issa Togo, Honorary Consul of the Republic of Mali in St. Petersburg and the Ambassador of Russian Education and Science from SPbPU. The partners discussed the state and prospects of Russian-Malian interregional cooperation, issues related to the activities of the Honorary Consul in the Northern Capital, including the problems of consular services. The topics of education of Malian students in Russian universities and their particiption in events dedicated to memorable dates of Russian history were touched upon.

They also touched upon the plot of a joint Russian-Malian project to establish a Polytechnic University in Bamako modeled on SPbPU and discussed the prospects for the reform of the education system in Mali, taking into account the rich Russian experience. Issa Togo is an associate professor at the Higher School of Hydraulic Engineering and Power Engineering at the Institute of Civil Engineering.

During the meeting, the activities of the consortium «Russian-African Network University» were also discussed. Touching upon the prospects for the development of interregional relations, the parties discussed the work on the preparation of a memorandum of cooperation between St. Petersburg and Bamako, as well as the need to expand the geography of contacts in the regions of the Northwestern Federal District.

Special attention was paid to the idea of holding the next stage of the Cross-Views school competition in the following format: students from Russian and Malian schools study the culture and history of the partner countries, after which they write works about Russia and Mali, respectively. The essays are evaluated by a jury consisting of representatives from both countries.