Sergey Lavrov Addresses MGIMO Freshmen

4 September 2018

The beginning of this academic year at MGIMO was marked by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s traditional visit to the University. The head of the Foreign Ministry welcomed the newly enrolled students and gave a talk describing the current situation on the international arena.

MGIMO Rector Anatoly Torkunov congratulated the students on the onset of the academic year, remarking the excellent level of the new intake, which is reflected by the students’ high average score at the Unified State Examination. The Rector also spoke about MGIMO’s ongoing endeavor to offer innovative programs, on artificial intelligence, the digital economy, which meet the latest requirements of employers and of the Foreign Ministry.

Sergey Lavrov opened his speech with an address to the freshmen, noting that while they are starting a new challenging page of their lives, they are surrounded by people who can help them each step of the way. The Minister also offered a detailed analysis of some key issues of the international agenda, describing Russia’s efforts to resolve the crisis in Syria and Ukraine and the current state of our country’s relations with the United States and Britain.

After his talk, Sergey Lavrov took questions from the audience on a variety of issues including the future of social networks, the ways citizen diplomacy can help to overcome stereotypes about our country and how the World Cup helped to promote a positive image of Russia.