During this meeting, held in the presence of the cultural affairs advisor at the Algerian embassy in Moscow, Sonia Benmaza, the president of the
Algeria-Russia Parliamentary Friendship Group, Mr. Abdeslam Bachagha, specified that this working visit to Russia aimed to "take stock of the state of Algerian-Russian cooperation in the field of
higher education and scientific research."
In this context, he stressed "the need to listen to the concerns of Algerian students pursuing their studies in Russian universities, to examine ways to promote cooperation between the two countries in this area and to evaluate the implementation of agreements concluded between Algerian and Russian universities." He also called for "activating the agreements concluded between Russian universities and the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research," "reviewing upwards the number of scholarships reserved for Algerian students" and "developing specialties in coordination with Algerian universities, particularly in the fields of cybersecurity and artificial intelligence."
For his part, the Russian Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education indicated that he supported Mr. Bachagha's proposals, stressing "the importance of strengthening cooperation in the field of higher education and scientific research, through the exchange of students in various specialties, as bridges of communication between the two peoples."
In this regard, he said that the higher education sector in Russia had asked the Russian Agency for Scholarships to "coordinate with the Algerian Ministry of Higher Education
and Russian universities to activate bilateral cooperation in this area," adding that the Russian Ministry of Science was ready to increase the number of scholarships
for Algerian students, while providing them with all the facilities.
At the end of the meeting, the two sides reviewed potential areas of cooperation, including agriculture, highlighting "the important role of parliamentarians in promoting
bilateral scientific cooperation," the APN statement concluded.