In 2024, a delegation from YSU Faculty of Oriental Studies, headed by the Dean, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor Ruben Melkonyan, visited Moscow State University (MSU) with a view to expanding the bilateral ties and reaching agreements on a number of joint projects.
As a confirmation of the agreements reached, a delegation from Moscow State University, led by Director of the Institute of Asian and African Studies Prof. Dr. Andrey Maslov, Deputy Director of International Relations Ekaterina Sintsova, and Head of the Department of Caucasian Alexey Muravyov, visited Yerevan on an official visit from March 13-15 of this year.
As a result, the inter-university cooperation framework between Yerevan State University and Moscow State University has been renewed, with a special emphasis on the collaboration between the Faculty of Oriental Studies and the Institute of Asian and African Studies. The agreement envisages professor exchange for giving lectures and seminars at both YSU and MSU, student exchange programs, joint conferences (the first of which is planned to be held in Armenia in November of this year), the organization of summer schools, joint publications, and other scientific initiatives.
During the visit, an agreement was reached to organize a summer school in Armenia in July of this year, which will involve students from Moscow, St. Petersburg, and YSU Faculty of Oriental Studies. Faculty members will teach at the summer school, along with two lecturers from Moscow and St. Petersburg universities.
Discussions led to the decision to make joint publications. It was decided to publish a special edition of the MSU journal Herald of Moscow University featuring articles by Armenian and Russian scholars. Professor Andrey Maslov has been included in the editorial board of the Issues of Oriental Studies journal, while Professor Ruben Melkonyan has been invited to join the editorial council of Herald of Moscow University.
A significant event within the framework of these developments is the launch of the Armenian Studies program at MSU in September. This program will establish multifaceted scientific cooperation, which has already been blessed by the Catholicos of All Armenians. His Holiness welcomed the MSU delegation, which visited the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, accompanied by Professor Ruben Melkonyan, and promised to provide full support for the program.
A notable academic achievement for YSU Faculty of Oriental Studies is the agreement to launch a Chinese Studies program. As part of this, Russian specialists have expressed their willingness to deliver lectures, both online and in-person, and to translate their textbooks on the history of China into Armenian. Armenian students will also have the opportunity to participate in a joint summer school in China organized by MSU and Chinese universities, as well as to spend one semester at MSU to deepen their expertise in Chinese studies.
