Thierry de Montbrial Delivers Lecture at MGIMO

10 April 2017

April 10th, MGIMO welcomed the President of the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI), also Honorary Doctor of MGIMO, Thierry de Montbrial.

Introducing the guest, MGIMO Rector Anatoly Torkunov noted that the audience was privileged to be able to meet one of the most renowned researchers in Europe and the world. The Rector also spoke about MGIMO’s long-running history of cooperation with the French Institute of International Relations and about their upcoming joint projects.

Thierry de Montbrial delivered a lecture on the foreign policy alternatives for France after the presidential elections. He described the programs of the presidential candidates, highlighting the foreign policy priorities of each one. The expert also dwelt on the problems currently faced by the European Union, noting that Brexit, the refugee flows and instability in the Euro zone could have a lasting impact on the whole world and on France in particular.

In a separate interview, MGIMO Rector Anatoly Torkunov, the Vice-Rector for General Affairs Artem Malgin and Thierry de Montbrial discussed issues relating to the «Russian section» of the upcoming World Policy Conference and the opportunities to increase joint publishing. During his visit to Russia, Thierry de Montbrial also met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and with the Chairman of the State Duma Committee for International Affairs Leonid Slutsky.