InteRussia: journalists from the Middle East and North Africa meet Yevgeny Primakov

2023-10-13 17:33 Journalism

On 12 October, the participants of another fellowship programme met the head of Rossotrudnichestvo in the Gorchakov Fund’s hall.

The head of the Agency welcomed the foreign guests and introduced them to the activities of the institution that he leads. According to him, 30 000 foreign students visit Russia annually as part of various educational programmes by Rossotrudnichestvo. He also noted that today there are more than 80 operating Russian Houses round the world with 900 employees. Yevgeny Primakov then focused on the way the Agency interact with compatriots living in former Soviet republics:

"It is a traumatic experience for people who lived in the USSR and after its collapse found themselves abroad overnight. We try to make sure that today they preserve their identity, even though sometimes this goes against the national policy of post-Soviet states. We also try to preserve historical memory: for example, we maintain monuments in good condition, which is especially important today against the backdrop of ideological confrontation with the West."

The participants were interested in scholarship opportunities for foreign students, the Russian Federation’s strategy to encourage Russian-speaking residents of other countries to move to Russia, and the prospects for opening Russian Houses in their countries.

InteRussia fellowship programmes are a unique opportunity to get to know the Russian agenda first-hand, attend lectures and workshops organised by leading media agencies, take part in partner events in the field of public diplomacy, and exchange experience with colleagues from different countries.

This programme is organised by the Gorchakov Fund in cooperation with Rossotrudnichestvo and the Sputnik international information agency and radio station. It is attended by 12 journalists from Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, and the UAE.