Russian House in Damascus to resume operations — agency

CultureRussian House in Damascus to resume operations — agency Rossotrudnichestvo representatives visited the Syrian capital and held talks at the Syrian Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and the Culture MinistryMOSCOW, August 11. /TASS/. The Russian House in Damascus will resume its activities after a delegation of Rossotrudnichestvo, Russia’s agency for international humanitarian cooperation, visited Syria, an agency official told TASS. "On behalf of Rossotrudnichestvo head Igor Chaika, the agency's delegation headed by his deputy Alexey Kleshchyov visited Damascus on August 9-10 to address practical matters concerning the resumption of the activities of the Russian Center for Science and Culture (RCSC) - The Russian House," the official said. In Damascus, the agency representatives held talks at the Syrian Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, as well as the Culture Ministry. "As a result, agreements were reached on the implementation of educational, cultural and scientific projects in the country, the demand for which continues to increase," the ministry official concluded. "Also, representatives of the Syrian Foreign Ministry visited the Russian House, where a joint working meeting was held to outline the possibilities and promising areas of activity of the RCSC. "One of the key areas of the Russian House's work will be education. Since the beginning of 2026, more than 4,500 applications have been received from Syrian citizens to study at Russian universities, and the competition has reached 23 people per place. Rossotrudnichestvo has confirmed its readiness to raise the Russian government’s quota for studying at Russian universities for Syrian students," the Rossotrudnichestvo official added. "During the negotiations, interuniversity exchange, educational programs in artificial intelligence, robotics, mathematics and engineering disciplines were discussed, along with the resumption of Russian language courses and preparation of applicants for participation in the selection for free higher education in Russia." The Russian House also hosted a meeting of delegates with Russian compatriots living in Syria. Support for teaching Russian was discussed, including the supply of textbooks and equipment, as well as the development of cultural projects. More than 40,000 Syrian schoolchildren continue to study Russian. 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