DUSHANBE, June 20, 2011, Asia-Plus  -- The 8th CIS education ministers’ conference, presided over by Tajik Minister of Education Abdujabbor Rahmonov, is taking place in Dushanbe today. 

According to the Ministry of Education (MoE), the conference is reviewing the results of work carried out since the previous conference, considering new tasks and discussing the results of activities of the CIS basic institutions for educational cooperation.

In his statement, Tajik Minister of Education Abdujabbor Rahmonov touched upon issues related to educational aspects of intercultural dialogue.

The conference is also considering issues related to implementation of the CIS Network University Project.

The CIS Network University Project was initiated by People’s Friendship University of Russia in 2008. The CIS Interstate Fund for Humanitarian Cooperation (IFHC) has supported this project.   The IFHC supported the project.  The Network University consortium includes 16 leading universities of eight countries: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan and Ukraine. 

The conference participants are also discussing preparations for the 2nd CIS Teachers’ Congress that is scheduled to take place in Yerevan, Armenia in 2012.

Besides, the 18th session of the CIS Council for Educational Cooperation took place in Dushanbe on June 16-18.  The session discussed more than 15 issues, including a draft agreement on providing equal opportunities to citizens of the CIS nations for entering and studying at higher educational institutions and research centers of the CIS nations and a draft agreement on cooperation on professional training of labor migrants.

On sidelines of the meeting, Tajik Minister of Education Abdujabbor Rahmonov held a number of talks with his counterparts from Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia as well as Kazakh deputy education minister.