The Ibero-American World Will Be the Subject of Research by Scientists and Students of Samara University

On October 8, 2024, at the venue of the E. M. Primakov Regional Centre for Development of Public Diplomacy and International Relations, the on-site meeting of the Association of Researchers of the Ibero-American World, a region uniting Latin American countries, Spain and Portugal, took place.

The event was attended by the delegation of the Institute of Latin America of the Russian Academy of Sciences, headed by its Director Dmitry Rosenthal; a representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry – Chairman of the Council of Veterans of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia Valery Morozov; representatives of universities of St. Petersburg and Kazan, students and scientists of Samara University.

“Currently, collaboration with Latin American countries is one of the most important priorities of Russia’s foreign policy. It is a great honor for us to host at Samara University diplomats, leading scientists and researchers of the Ibero-American world, with which we associate this field in our country. Thank you for taking the time to come to us, meet not only with our scientists, but also with students, and open up the opportunity for us to join the Ibero-American Club”, stressed Mikhail Leonov, opening the meeting of the Association.

Eduardo Villegas Mejias, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Mexico to the Russian Federation, addressed the participants of the meeting in the online format.

“In today’s world full of challenges and opportunities, it is impossible to overestimate the importance of intercultural, business and scientific cooperation. Our task is to achieve mutual understanding between our countries, to create the platform for exchanging knowledge, ideas and experience. Let’s open new horizons together, exchange opinions and build the future, in which mutual respect and cooperation will become the basis of our relations”, said Eduardo Villegas Mejias. He wished the participants further success, new victories and achievements in their research activities.

Dmitry Rosenthal, Director of the Institute of Latin America of the Russian Academy of Sciences, agreed with the thesis on the prospects for developing cooperation with the Ibero-American world in the economic, political and cultural fields. Herewith, he noted that Russia has lost a lot in studying this region: “For various reasons, strong and experienced specialists have left this theme. By and large, the Institute of Latin America of the Russian Academy of Sciences is currently the only comprehensive centre for Latin American studies in our country. We must correct this situation, create the infrastructure for researching, and Moscow specialists alone cannot do here. This should be done together, cooperating with regional universities. We are very interested in joint research projects and educational programs”.

Cooperation of Samara University and the Institute of Latin America of the Russian Academy of Sciences started in April 2022, with signing the cooperation agreement. The Institute teachers give their lectures at the University, Samara students trained in International Relations practice in Moscow. Egor Simanov, a graduate of Samara University, became an employee of the Institute of Latin America of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Dmitry Rosenthal invited the University administration to think about own research program for the Ibero-American world and handed over books related to this topic to the University library.

Chairman of the Veterans Council of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia Valery Morozov, who worked as ambassador to a number of Latin American countries, expressed confidence that the conference in Samara would expand and deepen knowledge and understanding of the processes to be taking place today in the Western Hemisphere of our planet. “Latin America is part of the world friendly to Russia. The role and importance of this region continuously grow. Globalization has allowed Latin American countries to become involved in global processes, to turn from an object of world politics into a subject of transformation of international relations. It is necessary to fight for Latin America, strengthen cooperation and positive trends in all spheres”, said Valery Morozov. He recalled that Latin American countries neither supported the sanctions against Russia, nor supplied weapons to the conflict zone, advocate diplomatic methods for resolving the situation between Russia and Ukraine. “Our cooperation with this region is based on pragmatic approaches that are not directed against anyone. By the way, this vector of foreign policy was laid down by Evgeny Maksimovich Primakov, after whom the Regional Centre for Development of Public Diplomacy and International Relations, in which we are located right now, is named”, stressed Valery Morozov. In his opinion, new realities and new challenges and threats require more in-depth research, the results of which will contribute to strengthening our country’s position in Latin America.

The Government of the Samara Region was represented at the meeting by Dmitry Abramov, Head of the Department of Investment, Innovation Policy and Foreign Economic Relations of the Ministry of Economic Development and Investment of the Samara Region. “The Samara Region has always been focused on broad international relations. Regional companies and business representatives have been actively interested in Latin American countries in recent years, we receive requests for participating in exhibitions and assisting to find partners in these countries. But without high-quality studies, without specialists, we will not be able to advance either in the investment or humanitarian areas of cooperation”, informed Dmitry Abramov. He thanked Samara University for excellent organization of the meeting.

In Samara, members of the Association of Researchers of the Ibero-American World discussed topical issues related to socioeconomic and political transformations in the countries of the region, cultural exchange, as well as scientific cooperation with Russian institutes and research centres.

The main result of the meeting was signing the roadmap for cooperation between Samara University, the Institute of Latin America of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Association of Researchers of the Ibero-American World, which involves joint scientific and educational projects and events, practical training and internships for students, field lectures, seminars and master classes.