Post #3300

Togo and Namibia are interested in training personnel for the transport sector in Russia The first International Transport and Logistics Forum is taking place in St. Petersburg, which is attended by delegates from 80 countries, including Africa. Eden Koku Tenge, Minister Delegate of the Maritime Economy of the Togolese Republic, representing the Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure Development and Rural Roads at the forum, as well as Tajudini Derman, Director of the Department of Automobile and Railway Transport (from the Ministry of Automobile, Air and Railway Transport), in an interview with Natalia Krasovskaya, Executive Director of the Center for Public Diplomacy, expressed the willingness of their departments to support educational initiatives of the Center in Togo. One of the first steps in this direction will be to work with students who will come from Togo within the scholarship program provided by the Russian government. The ministries plan to develop a project to pay for students' travel to study and ensure guaranteed employment after graduation, as well as consider the possibility of paying scholarships. A similar targeted training program will be implemented by the Center for Public Diplomacy in Namibia: a preliminary agreement has been reached with a representative of the Ministry of Works and Transport of Namibia, Deputy Executive Director of the Department of Transport Robert Kalomho. In addition, the Ministry plans to work with local large companies to form target groups of students to study in Russia with payment from a future employer. All agreements are planned to be consolidated by the signing of a memorandum of cooperation between the CPD and the Ministry of Transport of Namibia. The Consortium of Russian Universities for the Development of Cooperation with African Countries, which currently includes 33 Russian universities, has several transport universities that are ready to join these projects by opening specialized preparatory faculties. Russian Ambassador to Namibia Dmitry Lobach and Russian Ambassador to Togo Igor Evdokimov promised to support the launch of targeted training programs for the economies of African countries.