Press release on the 28th meeting of the Council of the Heads of Constituent Entities of Russia

On October 26, Sergey Lavrov chaired the 28th meeting of the Council of the Heads of Constituent Entities of Russia at the Foreign Ministry.

The meeting was attended by the heads of regions and senior officials from the President’s Executive Office and federal and regional executive authorities.

They discussed ways to enhance the regions’ contribution to strengthening the positions of Russian universities and promoting the Russian language abroad. The council members expressed appreciation for the efforts of the regional authorities and universities to develop relations with foreign universities, participate in joint  programmes and  create network universities with partners from EAEU and SCO countries, and promote cross-border and interregional cultural cooperation.

They also highlighted the need to include Russian regions in the implementation of the Russian Schools Abroad Concept Document, which President Vladimir Putin approved on November 4, 2015, and other regulations and programmes aimed at achieving this goal. The meeting participants focused on involving young people in the volunteer programme Russian Language Ambassadors in the World. They also approved a recommendation for the regions to develop not only inter-university contacts, but also ties between general and vocational training schools, and to assist the development of Russian language centres and departments in foreign countries.

The council members approved recommendations to this effect following the meeting.