Sergey Lavrov Opened Academic Year at MGIMO

1 September 2020

September 1^st, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov came to MGIMO to celebrate the start of the new academic year. As has become a tradition, the Foreign Minister spoke about the main issues on the international agenda, explained to the audience of future diplomats and international relations experts the country's foreign policy course and took questions from the audience.

The event started with a solemn speech by MGIMO Rector Anatoly Torkunov, who congratulated the students on “Knowledge Day”.

“We have just enrolled at MGIMO a new cohort of freshmen, who, I am quite certain, will uphold the traditions of our University, which were established long ago, during WW2 and in the post-war years, but that we faithfully maintain, all the while embracing modern trends and technologies ", noted the Rector.

This year has set several new records, with the number of applicants being 40% more than in any previous year and with 75% of all those admitted to study free of charge holding gold medals. In addition, all applicants have extraordinarily high passing scores. Another specificity of this new academic year lies in the fact that remote learning will be actively used in the educational process.

Joining in the Rector's congratulations, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted that, according to the statistics, only a small number of MGIMO graduates join the Foreign Ministry, while many more choose to work in other government and private structures.

“Studying at MGIMO offers many opportunities to find your calling and choose the profession most suited to you. The quality of the education guarantees that you can achieve great success in any field of work”, emphasized the Minister.

Reviewing the current political situation in the international arena, Sergey Lavrov remarked that a transition had begun towards a more democratic system, which should take better into account the changes that have unfolded in the world in recent decades.

“The situation in the world today is not of course as sanguinary as during the Second World War, but some of the risks are much greater”, noted the Minister.

Sergey Lavrov also drew the audience’s attention to a number of trends on the global arena, including the emergence of new centers of power, the West’s refusal to recognize the new polycentric world order, the reluctance of world leaders to have productive discussions, etc.

At the end of the event, S.Lavrov participated in a questions and answers session with students.