May 19^th saw the opening ceremony of the V International MGIMO Alumni Forum at the Symposiums Palace of the Alisher Navoi National Library of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Uzbekistan’s Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov read out President Shavkat Mirziyoyev's greeting.

MGIMO Rector Anatoly V. Torkunov read out Russian President Vladimir V. Putin's greeting to the participants.

Uzbekistan’s Foreign Minister A.Kh.Kamilov, Deputy Chair of the Federation Council of Russia I.M.-S. Umakhanov, Russia’s Minister of Culture V.R. Medinsky, member of the Board of Directors of the Eurasian Bank, co-owner of ERG (Eurasian Group) and IMR (International Mineral Resources) F.K.Shodiev spoke at the inaugural Forum in Tashkent.

Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister A.A. Pankin read out S.V. Lavrov’s greeting. The inaugural ceremony was moderated by M.S. Gusman, member of the MGIMO Supervisory Board, First Deputy Director General of TASS – the Forum’s media partner.  

The Alumni Forum brought together over 400 MGIMO graduates from 32 countries. The event was sponsored by A.B. Usmanov, Deputy Chair of the MGIMO Board of Trustees, founder of USM Holdings, and F.K.Shodiev, member of the MGIMO Board of Trustees.

The Forum was followed by heated discussions within three sessions devoted to political, security, economic and culture issues. Among those who addressed the participants of the Forum were Uzbekistan’s First Deputy Foreign Minister I.T. Neimatov, Senior Partner and Managing Director of BCG, BCG Chair in Russia V.V. Butenko, Russia’s Deputy Minister of Economic Development A.M. Talybov, Governor of the National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan (1999–2004, 2009–2013) G.A. Marchenko, Professor of the Tashkent Branch of Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary B.A. Islamov, First Vice President of “Gazprombank” D.V. Shulakov, UN Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs M.Jenca, Uzbekistan’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary D.Kh. Akhatov, State Secreatry, Deputy Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic L.Parizek, President of the Turkish Center for International Relations and Strategic Analysis S.Ogan, Deputy Director of the Center for Analysis and Forecasting at the MFA Uzbekistan D.D. Kurbanov, Uzbekistan’s Presidential Advisor on youth, science, education, and sport issues, Rector of the University of World Economy and Diplomacy of the MFA Uzbekistan Abdujabar A. Abduvakhitov.

The main part of the Forum’s programme included business meetings with heads of ministries and companies to discuss bilateral issues in education, culture and investment.