Dmitry Bespalov (Acting Rector, NCFU) joined the 5^th Rectors Forum of Russia and Iran, which was held online this year.

The Co-chairs for the event were Victor Sadovnichy (MSU, Moscow, Russia) and Mahmoud Nili Ahmadabadi (President, Summit of Iran Leading Universities; President, University of Tehran).

Besides, the event was welcomed by other top official, including Kazem Jalali (Iran Ambassador in Russia) and Valery Falkov (Minster of Science and Higher Education, Russia).

At the meeting, the parties told about the progress they have reached through cooperation and discussed further steps to promote both joint research and academic mobility, as well as announced one initiative – to establish a youth association of Iran and Russia, which would be responsible for arranging meetings and discussing joint research projects.

As for NCFU, this event was not just another meeting, since we have already entered agreements on cooperation with the leading universities of Iran, and now are reviewing areas for expanding cooperation. For instance, for several years now NCFU’s mathematicians with their colleagues from the Islamic Azad University (the largest academic institution in Iran and the Middle East, with over 1 mln students) have been running a major research project, while a joint monograph has already been published.