Senegal and Guinea-Bissau Plan Joint Projects with Novosibirsk Universities

In July, the Center for Public Diplomacy, whose trustee is the Novosibirsk-based GC "Rascvetay," organized a scheduled working tour of Africa. The main goal was to discuss targeted education programs for African students in Russia. The visit included countries where the Center already has partner Russian Houses and where Novosibirsk universities are represented by their preparatory departments and international classes—Niger, Burkina Faso, and Ghana—as well as new destinations—Senegal and Guinea-Bissau. The delegation that visited the latter two countries included some of the most active members of the Consortium of Russian Universities for Cooperation with African Countries—Novosibirsk State Technical University and Siberian State University of Engineering and Biotechnology.

The meeting schedule was very tight—the Russian delegation was received both at профиль ministries and at leading universities, once again demonstrating Africa’s strong interest in building solid ties with Russia in personnel training, education, and science.

Currently, education is one of the leading areas of interaction between Russia and Africa. Infrastructure development, growth in socio-economic well-being, and ensuring food security are top priorities facing Africa today, and all of them require a large number of qualified specialists, whom African countries are ready to train in Russia.

A particularly illustrative meeting was held between the Center’s Russian delegation and the Minister of the Interior of Guinea-Bissau, Mama Saliu Embaló, who was educated in the Soviet Union and whose daughter is currently studying in Krasnodar. The minister’s son is still in school but also plans to pursue his professional education in Russia, following family tradition. Mama Saliu Embaló has not been to Russia for 35 years, yet he spoke with Russian representatives in Russian and assured full support from his ministry in registering the Center’s Russian House in Bissau, whose hallmark is free Russian language courses for Africans.

An agreement with the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, providing for the opening of a Russian House, was signed on the very first day of the Russian delegation’s visit. The launch of the Russian House and the educational programs based there is expected before the end of 2026.

Russian education in Bissau is an undisputed mark of quality for professionals. For example, the Ministry of Agriculture of Guinea-Bissau proudly reported that more than half of the specialists currently involved in managing the country’s agricultural sector are graduates of Soviet universities. However, the sector is now in urgent need of young professionals, so the ministry is highly interested in joint training programs with Russian universities. In particular, the meeting discussed the possibility of including students from Guinea-Bissau in the Biotechnology University’s “Farmers’ School” program.

The development of the agricultural sector is an unconditional domestic policy priority for the country, as it is closely linked to both food security and improving the population’s quality of life. Therefore, the Minister of National Education, Higher Education and Scientific Research of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, Barros Bacar Banjai, appealed to the Center for Public Diplomacy and the Consortium universities to consider the possibility of opening an agricultural faculty at the country’s only public university—the Amílcar Cabral University. The Siberian State University of Engineering and Biotechnology has given preliminary consent to participate in the project.

Meanwhile, the leadership of the African university primarily associates cooperation with Russia with plans to improve the qualifications of its teaching staff and is also interested in opening a Russian language department and preparatory faculties of Novosibirsk universities at the institution. The university’s rector is expected to take part in “Technoprom-2026,” where partnership memorandums between Amílcar Cabral University, the Center for Public Diplomacy, NSTU, and the University of Biotechnology will be signed.

Another important educational area is training personnel for the healthcare system. Since the vast majority of programs in this field in Russia are taught exclusively in Russian, a meeting at the Ministry of Public Health of Guinea-Bissau focused primarily on opening Russian language courses for ministry employees, as well as for students from Bissau planning to pursue medical education in Russia under targeted programs. An oral request was also received to open a specialized preparatory medical class—currently, a Russian partner university is being sought.

As many African countries associate Russia with achieving not only technological but also ideological sovereignty, interest in targeted education programs is very high. In Senegal, these programs formed the core agenda at a meeting in the National Assembly of Senegal, as well as with the leadership of the private Sheikh Ahmadoul Khadim University in the Touba region and the public Cheikh Anta Diop University located in the capital, Dakar.

Senegalese deputies welcomed the opening of the Center for Public Diplomacy’s Russian House in Dakar and identified the advanced training of Senegalese teachers in sector-specific specialties as a priority for educational cooperation, pledging maximum support.

Meanwhile, Senegalese and Novosibirsk universities have begun preparing joint initiatives. The focus is on advanced training for faculty members, including Russian language instructors, cooperation in scientific research, and the development of academic mobility programs. In addition, the university in Touba offered to take responsibility for recruiting applicants for targeted study programs at the Siberian State University of Engineering and Biotechnology and Novosibirsk State Technical University.

Training personnel for African countries through targeted education programs in Russia promises maximum efficiency for all parties involved. Broadly speaking, strengthening the international positions of African countries through economic and social development aligns with Russia’s current geopolitical interests. At the same time, Novosibirsk universities, which—with the support of the Center for Public Diplomacy—are expanding their international student body, not only benefit from educating foreign students but also significantly enhance the global recognition of the Siberian region.