Penza State University was represented by Rector Aleksandr Guliakov at the VI Forum of the Volga-Yangtze Association of Universities. The area of cooperation with Chinese partners traditionally remains a priority in the development of international activities of the leading university in the Penza region.

As part of the meeting of the Council for Cooperation between the Regions of the Volga Federal District of Russia and the provinces of the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze River of the People's Republic of China, which took place from November 8 to 9 in the city of Nanchang (Jiangxi Province), the VI Forum of the Volga-Yangtze University Association was held.

The Forum was dedicated to the topic of educational and scientific potential of cooperation between Russian and Chinese universities. Its participants were greeted by the Deputy Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, Zhang Guoqing, and the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Volga Federal District, Igor Komarov. They highly appreciated the work of the Association to deepen Russian-Chinese academic interaction.

“Within the framework of the partnership between Russia and China, we pay attention not only to deepening and expanding trade, economic, scientific and technical potential, but also strive for strong friendly ties between our youth! After all, the unity and cooperation of our younger generation is the basis of a solid foundation for interstate relations in the future,” noted Igor Komarov.

The co-chairs of the Volga-Yangtze University Association also spoke at the opening ceremony of the Forum: from the Chinese side - Wang Jinsong, Rector of Sichuan University, from the Russian side - Sergei Dmitriev, Rector of Nizhny Novgorod State Technical University.

The rectors emphasized that the Association, created in 2017 and uniting more than 80 Russian and Chinese universities, is today one of the powerful tools for developing Russian-Chinese university partnership. The events held within the framework of its activities provide an opportunity for participants to exchange best practices and knowledge in the educational, scientific, technical and humanitarian fields, and also contribute to the growth of the potential of the Volga-Yangtze interregional cooperation and the strengthening of the strategic partnership between Russia and China.

The co-chairs of the Association, as well as representatives of 11 higher educational institutions of the Volga Federal District and 23 universities in China, discussed the educational and scientific potential of cooperation between Chinese and Russian universities, outlined vectors for the development of humanitarian partnerships, made proposals for consolidating the efforts of all participating universities in training highly qualified specialists, expanding academic exchanges and increasing joint scientific and technical research.

The Forum participants expressed new ideas, voiced promising areas of joint work between universities, outlined important components of the development of partnership relations between Russia and China and the further strengthening of mutual understanding and friendship between our peoples.