Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- A delegation of the Ministry of Agriculture of Uzbekistan visited the oldest agricultural university in Great Britain, Royal Agricultural University (RAU), which is under the royal patronage of the Prince of Wales. The purpose of the visit of representatives of the Uzbek agrarian department is to strengthen cooperation, develop educational programs and other issues for the International Agricultural University, which is being created in Uzbekistan.

The delegation was headed by Professor Munira Aminova, who, in the process of recent personnel changes at the Tashkent State Agrarian University, was appointed to the position of advisor to the rector. Professor Aminova, together with specialists from the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Uzbekistan, met with the leadership of the RAU, including Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Neil Ravenscroft, Head of the RAU School of Agriculture Philip Hudson and RAU Research Director Professor Mark Horton.

“We are delighted to welcome the team from Uzbekistan to Cirencester,” said Professor Ravenscroft. “Based on the results of discussions started this year, they visited our university to make sure we meet the requirements of partnership when creating a new international agricultural university in Uzbekistan. For most of its history, RAU has sought to partner with agricultural experts around the world to ensure that students receive a world-class education so that knowledge, while international in format, remains relevant and applied to local application.”

Professor Neil Ravenscroft stressed that RAU’s growing relationship with the Ministry of Agriculture of Uzbekistan will continue this traditional approach, ensuring that students at the new International Agricultural University get the best from this collaboration.

The team of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Uzbekistan met with students, teachers and other employees of the university, got acquainted with the infrastructure, visited the campus and the agro-technological incubator of the University Farm491. The delegation was also shown a new virtual learning environment (Virtual Learning Environment) and other innovations that are successfully used in teaching RAU students at partner universities, for example, in China.

“We are glad to cooperate with an agricultural university of Great Britain and are open for the introduction of British educational standards in the field of agriculture in Uzbekistan,” said Professor Aminova. “We look forward to promoting agricultural research, excellence and quality education together, and we are convinced that cooperation will bring mutual benefits and new opportunities.”

The Royal Agricultural University noted the commitment of the Government of Uzbekistan to consistently transform the agricultural sector into a competitive, export-oriented and free market sector, aimed at achieving food security within the framework of mechanisms to support agriculture and knowledge in this area.

The creation of a new International Agricultural University in Uzbekistan, as well as a partnership with RAU, is supported by the Government of Uzbekistan and the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Uzbekistan. In the summer of 2021, a trilateral Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation was signed between the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Royal Agricultural University (RAU) and the Lithuanian Vytautas Magnus University (VDU), on the basis of which the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Uzbekistan, RAU and VDU will be able to negotiate on the establishment and operation of new international university.

The memorandum also provides for the exchange of teachers and students between universities, as well as the implementation of professional training and development programs for farmers and consultants of agro-oriented farms, the development of projects and programs, joint scientific research, international conferences and much more.

A similar project to expand international cooperation in the field of education will become part of the implementation of the Strategy for the Development of Agriculture till 2030, one of the priorities of which is "Development of Science, Education and Information Service Systems in Agriculture."