29.10.2023
During October 23-29, 2023 the ASEAN Centre’s delegation compromising Deputy Director Dr. Valeria Vershinina and Senior Expert Dr. Victor Sumsky paid a visit to Cambodia to participate in the 2nd International Phnom Penh Forum. The event was hosted by the International Relations Institute of Cambodia (IRIC) at the Royal Academy of Cambodia.
ASEAN Centre’s experts participated in two forum’s sessions. Dr. Valeria Vershinina was a speaker at the session dedicated to the Chinese initiatives and presented Russia’s perspective on the SCO and BRICS. Dr. Victor Sumsky participated in the session on the Ukraine crisis and NATO’s advancement in Asia. The presentations by ASEAN Centre’s experts aroused great interest and received a positive feedback from the audience. The forum’s outcomes were widely covered in the local media.
During their visit to Cambodia Dr. Valeria Vershinina and Dr. Victor Sumsky held a series of working meetings with the representatives of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, Academy of Sciences, leading universities and research centers of Cambodia.
On October 25, MGIMO delegates had a meeting with H.E. Sok Touch, President of the Royal Academy of Cambodia. Both sides discussed promising areas of cooperation including exchange of experience, conducting joint events and research activities. The meeting was also attended by the diplomats from the Russian Embassy in Phnom Penh – Minister-Counselor Mr. Igor Karavayev and Third Secretary Mr. Andrey Kapustin.
On October 26, the Director General of the Department of Higher Education Mr. Mak Ngoy welcomed the MGIMO delegation at the Ministry. At the meeting Dr. Valeria Vershinina and Dr. Victor Sumsky told about recently launched master program “Political Economy of Russia-ASEAN Strategic Partnership” and about the ASEAN Centre’s activities. Mr. Mak Ngoy welcomed the program and expressed his support in promoting it among Cambodian applicants. On the same day the delegation paid a visit to the Royal University of Phnom Penh and had meetings with the representatives of the Institute for International Studies and Public Policy, Faculty of Social Science and Humanities and Center for Southeast Asian Studies. Parties outlined possible areas of cooperation and expressed interest in conducting joint events. Above that the delegation held a number of working meetings with the staff of the Asian Vision Institute and Cambodian Center for Regional Studies.
The visit’s program also included a meeting with H.E. Anatoly Borovik, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Kingdom of Cambodia. The ASEAN Centre expresses it gratitude to the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Cambodia for the support provided to the Centre’s staff during this working trip.
