‘There Are Many Directions in Which We Can Develop Our Relations with Iran’
On February 12, an official signing ceremony was held for an agreement on the free transfer of literature published by the Organisation for Researching and Composing University Textbooks in the Islamic Sciences and the Humanities under the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology of the Islamic Republic of Iran (SAMT) to HSE University. The event took place in the HSE University library on Pokrovsky Bulvar.
The meeting was attended by HSE University Rector Nikita Anisimov and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of Iran Kazem Jalali. HSE University Vice Rector Victoria Panova, First Vice Rector Vadim Radaev, Dean of the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs Anastasia Likhacheva, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities Felix Azhimov, Director of the Institute for Oriental and Classical Studies (IOCS) Denis Volkov, Deputy Library Director Elena Shukshina, and other university representatives also took part in the event.
At the beginning of the ceremony, Nikita Anisimov and Kazem Jalali greeted each other and exchanged words of gratitude. ‘I am pleased to personally congratulate you on the anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran,’ said HSE University Rector. ‘We recently celebrated Diplomat’s Day in Russia, and I also congratulate you, a diplomat who builds relations between our countries, on this date.’
Nikita Anisimov said that there are a number of students currently learning the Persian language at the university, and their number will only grow thanks to the literature provided. ‘We are confident that exchange programmes will also develop. We have previously met with the rectors of Iranian universities and agreed on cooperation,’ Nikita Anisimov said. ‘There are many directions in which we can develop our relations.’
Kazem Jalali shared that, in his opinion, HSE University was one of the leading Russian universities. He drew attention to the building renovations and noted that the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran was located just a few metres away from the main building of HSE University. ‘We are neighbours and should visit each other more often, so we invite you and your colleagues to visit us and try Iranian cuisine,’ he said. ‘We will continue scientific and public relations with your help. We are also pleased to know that Iranian students study at the university and that Persian is taught here.’
Vice Rector Victoria Panova added that the initiative by the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Russian Federation to donate literature would contribute to the development and support of Iranian studies at HSE University. ‘Iranian studies at the university are developed at the Institute for Oriental and Classical Studies (IOCS) within the Faculty of Humanities and the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs. Scientific and educational literature and manuals can be useful for training specialists in Iranian studies in senior undergraduate and graduate courses, as well as for teachers and researchers at HSE University,’ said the Vice Rector.
Continuing the topic, Anastasia Likhacheva, Dean of the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs, said that students and staff of the faculty started taking an increased interest in Iran when the former Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Iran to Russia, Mehdi Sanai, began teaching at HSE University. ‘And we are proud to say that he continues to do it to this day,’ she emphasised.
Felix Azhimov also greeted the delegation from the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran. ‘The books in Iranian studies and Iranian languages that you are granting us will be in great demand among our students who learn the Persian language,’ he believes.
At the end of the meeting, Nikita Anisimov and Kazem Jalali exchanged souvenirs and made a short tour of the library.
The Organisation for Researching and Composing University Textbooks in the Islamic Sciences and the Humanities (SAMT) is a government organisation operating under the auspices of Iran’s Ministry of Science, Research and Technology. SAMT was founded by the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution in 1985, after the Cultural Revolution in Iran, and is the largest organisation dedicated to the development, preparation, and publication of textbooks for higher education in Iran in the field of humanities. Its publications include textbooks on Persian as a foreign language for all levels of education, manuals on translating texts on various subjects, including news and business, manuals on written speech development, educational and scientific literature, and manuals for universities on various subjects. Russia’s Institute of Asian and African Studies at Moscow State University and the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences are among the foreign partners of SAMT.
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