Visit of the Ethiopian delegation to Michurinsk SAU

The delegation of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, consisting of the President of Bonga University Petros Woldegiorgis Woldesenbet, President and Vice-President of the Pan-African Center for the Development of Public-Private Partnership Vladimir Posazhennikov and Oksana Mayorova, paid an official visit to Michurinsk State Agrarian University. Representatives of the international delegation were met: Acting Rector of Michurinsk State University Sergey Zhidkov, heads of structural divisions of the university and activists of student volunteer organizations.

The delegation of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, consisting of the President of Bonga University Petros Woldegiorgis Woldesenbet, President and Vice-President of the Pan-African Center for the Development of Public-Private Partnership Vladimir Posazhennikov and Oksana Mayorova, paid an official visit to Michurinsk State Agrarian University. Representatives of the international delegation were met: Acting Rector of Michurinsk State University Sergey Zhidkov, heads of structural divisions of the university and activists of student volunteer organizations.

The initial relations with colleagues from Ethiopia at the leadership of the agricultural university of the Tambov region were established at the Second Summit held in the summer of 2023 - the Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum, which became a platform for building strategic cooperation in cultural, educational, scientific, trade and economic areas, contributed to strengthening international ties in industry, agriculture, construction, transport and logistics, high technology.

According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the results of the summit form a good basis for further deepening of the Russian-African partnership in the interests of prosperity and well-being of our peoples.

Ethiopia is one of the leading countries of the African continent, which develops educational cooperation with universities of the Russian Federation. Currently, 35 thousand students from Africa study in Russia.

Russia and Ethiopia have long-standing socio-economic and friendly ties based on the principles of mutual respect. For Russia, Ethiopia was the first country on the African continent with which diplomatic relations were concluded 125 years ago.

Today, Russia and Ethiopia are developing cooperation in the field of higher education and training. Over the previous years, more than 20 thousand Ethiopian citizens have been educated in Russia. In 2023/2024, the quota for students from Ethiopia was more than tripled at the expense of the budget of the Russian Federation.

Bonga University (Ethiopia) trains specialists in the field of agriculture. More than 12 thousand students study at the university.

"Michurinsk State University strengthens cooperation with another countries and develops international relations in the educational, scientific, technical and cultural spheres. Forty people from African countries Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Congo, Benin, Cameroon, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Algeria study at the university for bachelor's and master's degree programs. Students show a high level of training and in the future will become in-demand specialists in various sectors of the economy with knowledge of the Russian language," said Sergey Zhidkov, the head of Michurinsk State University.

The scientific schools of the Agrouniversity on the selection of low-growing clonal rootstocks, horticulture, agricultural mechanization, biophotonics in agriculture, breeding and seed production, monitoring of soil and vegetation cover, open and protected soil, are widely known outside of Russia.

The visit of the international delegation began with the laying of flowers at the burial place of the great breeder Ivan Michurin. The leadership of the agricultural University, representatives of the friendly African state honored the memory of the scientist with a minute of silence.

The delegation of Ethiopia visited the facilities of the Michurinsk State Agrarian University: the educational and research laboratory of functional nutrition products, the educational and research laboratory of advanced technologies for storing fruits and vegetables, the Department of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine with the educational and technological center "Veterinary Hospital", got acquainted with the work of the educational and research greenhouse complex, laboratories "Biophotonics", biotechnology.

The visit ended with the signing of a bilateral agreement on international, educational, research and methodological cooperation between Michurinsk State Agrarian University and Bonga University. The document is aimed at long-term cooperation, establishing strong ties between educational institutions and testing innovative models of the content of modern education. It is planned to cooperate with universities in the organization of training, exchange of teachers and students within the framework of the academic mobility program, network interaction in the field of international, research, educational, methodological and publishing activities, organization and support of joint practices of students, professional development and retraining of teaching staff, implementation of career guidance activities, implementation of joint international and regional projects.

Petros Woldegiorgis Woldesenbet, President of Bonga University, thanked Sergey Zhidkov for the rich program of the visit and expressed confidence in the further continuation of scientific and educational cooperation in training qualified specialists for the agro-industrial complex of the African continent at the Michurinsk SAU site: "The conclusion of a cooperation agreement between our universities is a great honor for Ethiopia and Bonga University. Our university trains specialists in the field of crop production, dairy and meat animal husbandry, breeding new and improving existing breeds of livestock. That is why it is so important for us to exchange experience and knowledge with the teachers of Michurinsk State Agrarian University. In addition, Bonga University also studies the historical heritage of the past. The university has created a museum of Alexander Bulatovich, a Russian officer, scientist and religious figure who made a trip to Ethiopia at the end of the XIX century through the territory of the Gonga peoples. In Russia, his mission and scientific works on Ethiopia were highly appreciated by the Russian Geographical Society. I am sure that the cooperation between our universities will be fruitful"