Business negotiations between Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria to the Russian Federation Mr. Smail Benamara and representatives of the international Office of SPbPU were held on the site of Technopolis Polytech research complex. The parties discussed the development of cooperation in scientific and educational spheres and activation of partnership with the leading universities of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria, in particular with the École nationale polytechnique (ENP).
The meeting between the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Algeria to Russia and the leaders of SPbPU was the second in the last six months. Last November, Rector of SPbPU Andrei Rudskoi had extensive talks with the Governor of Algeria, Mr. Mohamed Abdenour Rabhi and Mr. Smail Benamara on the platform of the 4th International Municipal BRICS+ Forum. Then the parties identified points of mutual interest and priorities in the joint scientific and educational activities — bilateral partnerships between leading universities of the two countries, faculty exchanges, student teaching, and joint research projects.
Several days ago, the participants came to the negotiations with a draft agreement on partnership between SPbPU and the National Polytechnic School of Algeria, which today is one of the leading educational institutions of the Republic. Despite the short visit, the meeting participants had time to discuss proposals for joint participation in major international events, such as the International Polytechnic Week, the Russia-Africa Summit, and the 5th International BRICS+ Municipal Forum.
Vice-Rector for International Affairs Prof. Dr. Dmitry Arseniev noted that Algeria is one of the leading countries — regional leaders of the African continent, demonstrating rapid economic and industrial development, so it is very important for Polytechnic University to conduct systematic and extensive work to establish long-term cooperation with universities and industry of this country. We see great potential in developing cooperation with Algerian universities, commented Dmitry Arseniev and emphasized that representatives of SPbPU and ENP will soon finalize a partnership agreement and a cooperation roadmap.
For his part, Mr. Smail Benamara, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Algeria to Russia, expressed his readiness to assist in developing cooperation between SPbPU and ENP and emphasized that Algeria is interested in strengthening partnership with Russian universities. The most important thing for me is to see concrete actions, and I am very happy about the positive dynamics of relations between our countries, said Mr. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, I am glad that I was able to visit the Polytechnic University and personally evaluate its impressive scale.
The participants of the negotiations agreed to hold in the nearest future a video conference with the involvement of ENP and SPbPU professors and discussed the possibility of organizing a professor-teacher exchange within the programs of invited professors, as well as holding a special webinar for Algerian university students who wish to participate in the Open Doors Olympiad. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Algeria in Russia invited the SPbPU delegation to visit Algeria and get personally acquainted with the potential of this country and its universities. Mr. Smail Benamara’s visit to Polytechnic University ended with a tour of the campus and an introduction to the university’s infrastructure.