Korovy Val Moscow, Russia – Monday 27 November 2023 – In her dedication to deepen ongoing academic cooperation, the Minister of Technical and Higher Education of Sierra Leone, Haja Ramatulai Wurie and Russia’s Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education, Konstantin Mogilevskiy, entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The event took place on November 24, 2023, in the presence of other distinguished personalities. This serves as a significant milestone in solidifying the educational partnership between the two nations.
Deputy Minister Konstantin Mogilevskiy led the Russian delegation. The latter apologised for the absence of the minister due to unforeseen circumstances. Other officials included Sergey Terashkevich, Elena Blagireva, Alexander Berezhnoy, and Margarita Shumeykina.
The Sierra Leonean delegation was led by Dr. Haja Ramatulai Wurie. Also in attendance were the Director General National Mineral Agency (NMA) Ing Hadji Dabo, Ambassador Mohamed Yongawo, Mr George Agbeigeima Dambo, Assistant to the Minister and Student Secretary at MTHE; Festus Jusu Lahai Press Atache, Mrs. Wulaimatu Conteh first secretary and Elena Dzebisova all staff at the Embassy of Sierra Leone in Moscow.
The signed MOU, which focused on higher education collaboration, underscores the shared commitment to strengthen academic collaboration. Both sides acknowledged the important role of educational partnerships in fostering bilateral relations, promoting academic mobility, and facilitating the exchange of educational services.
In her opening remarks, Dr Ramatulai Wurie acknowledged Russia’s enduring support of Sierra Leone’s human capital development. Highlighting the profound impact of Russian education on Sierra Leonean society, Dr Wurie further applauded Russia for training over 2000 Sierra Leoneans over the years with 136 students currently pursuing various academic disciplines at Russian universities. Dr Wurie commended the Russian Peoples’ Friendship University (RUDN) for the additional student scholarship allocations and acknowledged the University’s unwavering commitment to students’ welfare.
“We see our young people as our most valuable asset in Sierra Leone, we have a very youthful population and we are building up their capacity through Education. I believe that the partnership signed today underscores the investment and dedication of our President and Government to education in various aspects for the future.
Dr Wurie continued: Our students upon completion of their courses will return to Sierra Leone and also serve as change agents in their different specialist areas,” Minister Wurie said.
During the meeting, Deputy Minister Mogilevskiy indicated the possibility of training Sierra Leoneans in Russian educational institutions. He revealed plans to augment the student quota, which will be increased in the future academic years. 
The Deputy informed of Russia’s readiness to support Sierra Leonean universities through direct partnerships.
Additionally, he suggested Sierra Leone’s participation in the Russian National Universities, a collaborative platform already including several African universities.
“Our main area of cooperation is the training of Sierra Leoneans in educational institutions in the Russian Federation.
Last year we had 75 students and because of the growing interest in Sierra Leonean students in education we have decided to increase the quota from 15 to 20 and it will be increased next academic year. We are ready to support Sierra Leonean universities with direct partnerships.
We would also suggest Sierra Leone join the Union of Russian National Universities as we have several African Universities that are part of the Union already,” Minister Mogilevskiy said.
Recognizing Sierra Leone’s priorities in human capital development, agriculture, energy, infrastructure, information technology, and public sector enhancement, Deputy Minister Mogilevskiy reiterated Russia’s commitment to support these sectors in training specialists tailored specifically to the needs of Sierra Leone.
The signing of this MOU marks a significant stride in educational cooperation between Sierra Leone and Russia; it heralds a promising era of rich academic exchanges and sustained collaborations for the advancement of higher education in both nations.
Credit: Festus J. Lahai, Information Attache’, Moscow, Russian Federation
