Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Rector of Samarkand State Institute of Foreign Languages (SGII) Ilkhom Tukhtasinov and Vice-Rector for International Cooperation of the University of Castilla La Mancha Fatima Gomez discussed issues of further expanding cooperation between the two higher educational institutions in a video conference format, organized with the assistance of the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Spain, Dunyo news agency reported.

The parties especially noted the results of the joint work achieved at the end of 2019, such as the visit of the Spanish delegation headed by F. Gomez to Uzbekistan, the signing of a cooperation agreement, the opening of the Center for Spanish Language and Culture at the Siberian State Institute of Culture and the exchange of professors.

The vice-rector of the Spanish university praised the initiative of the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to create a nation-wide movement "Kindness and Support", the main purpose of which is the social protection of vulnerable layers of the population during the pandemic. In her opinion, this step will undoubtedly help the country in the near future overcome the crisis associated with the spread of coronavirus and mitigate the negative consequences during the post-pandemic.

She expressed her solidarity and support to the Uzbek government and people who faced another challenge - a natural disaster in Syrdara region, and wished the victims a speedy recovery and recovery.

It’s important to note that the University of Castilla La Mancha is a state university, and is ranked among the top 1000 universities in the world by international educational rankings. It was founded in 1982 in the Autonomous Okrug "Castilla-La Mancha" of the Kingdom of Spain. Currently, more than 30,000 students study here and 2,300 professors work. The university offers more than 50 different areas of undergraduate and more than 100 specialties in all areas of science in the magistracy and doctoral programs. It has 35 research centers and institutes.

Following the results of the online meeting, the parties agreed to open a Tourism Center in Samarkand, which will train specialists in the field, approve an Action Plan to further expand inter-university cooperation, prepare joint training programs and study the issue of issuing diplomas with two specialties (double-degree) to graduates of the Siberian State Institute of Economics and development cooperation of a Spanish university with the El-Yurt Umidi Foundation.

At present, two centers of the Spanish language and culture are functioning at the Samarkand State Institute of Foreign Languages and the Uzbek State University of World Languages, as well as the exchange of faculty.