Azerbaijan, France discuss how to develop educational relations

Baku, January 16, AZERTAC Azerbaijan`s Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has met with French Minister of Higher Education, Research and Innovation Frederique Vidal as part of his working visit to France. During the meeting, the ministers hailed the development of bilateral relations in all spheres of cooperation, including education. FM Mammadyarov noted that cooperation between Azerbaijan and France in the field of education is based on historic and also symbolic roots and added that about 50 Azerbaijani students got education at various universities of France in the period of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, which will celebrate the 100th anniversary in 2018. In this regard, he added that students from Azerbaijan were trained in various universities such as Paris University, Nancy University, Lyon University, Toulouse High Tech School, and Nancy High School of Carpet Weaving, in the field of shipbuilding, medicine, physics and chemistry and geology. The two ministers also emphasized the importance of continuation of successful experience on language and culture training. In this regard, the addition of the Azerbaijani language into the curricula of the French National Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilizations, the opening of Baku French Lyceum, and the expansion of French language teaching in Azerbaijan were highly appreciated. The ministers noted the establishment and operation of the first-ever in the region Joint Azerbaijani-French University as a successful example of cooperation in the field of education between Azerbaijan and France. Elmar Mammadyarov emphasized that one of the directions of cooperation between the two countries in the field of education is the granting of scholarships to the Azerbaijani citizens by the French Government and Azerbaijan's interest in increasing the number of scholarships. Frederique Vidal noted that in 2017, 50 scholarships were granted to Azerbaijan and that student exchange within the ERASMUS program was successfully continued. With regard to Elmar Mammadyarov`s invitation on study of French students in Azerbaijan, Minister Vidal considered the proposal interesting and said that the French side is ready for cooperation in this direction. The ministers also discussed the cooperation between the French University of Strasbourg and Azerbaijan University of Languages, mutual research of archives, which are rich with documents on the activities of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in France, as well as diplomatic, cultural and other documents relating to France in Azerbaijan.