Eminent scholars from India and Russia participated in the first Ganga-Volga Dialogue of Civilizations earlier this week here, wherein they deliberated upon the existing and emerging spheres of bilateral cooperation between the two countries, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday.
As many as 15 scholars from Russia and India spoke at the dialogue -- which took place on Wednesday -- upon the four broad themes in the context of India-Russia bilateral cooperation, namely, education, culture and civilization; entrepreneurship and innovation; trade routes including inland navigation; and, India, Russia and Greater Eurasia, the MEA said in a statement.
Evaluating the current state of India-Russia cooperation in various spheres and in emerging and new areas which provide significant possibilities of cooperation such as the Russian Far East and Eurasia, the scholars agreed that efforts should be made to encourage the younger generation of scholars in both countries to engage with each other through the platforms of academic and scientific research, language studies, exchange of youth delegations etc.
Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan, Ambassador of the Russian Federation Nikolay Kudashev, and Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) Mahesh Poddar also spoke at the inaugural session of the dialogue.
The idea of the Dialogue had emanated from discussions between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The scholars who spoke at the Dialogue included Tatiana Shaumyan, Head, Centre for Indian Studies under the RAS Institute of Oriental Studies; Evgeniy Kozhokin, Vice-rector for scientific affairs, Moscow State Institute for International Relations, Valeriy Kashin; Olga Solodkova; Alexey Kupriyanov; and Svetlana Ryzhakova from the Russian side.
From the Indian side, rban Ganguly, Director, Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation; Ambassador Asoke Mukerji, India's former Permanent Representative to the UN; Mahesh Poddar, Member of Parliament, RajyaSabha; Vijay Chauthaiwale, Member, Mission High-Level Committee; Atal Innovation Mission, Pof Neelakshi Suryanarayan; Prof Gulshan Sachdeva; Uttam Sinha, Fellow, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library; Sanjay Pulipaka; and Ashwin Johar spoke at the Dialogue.
The Dialogue was orgsed by the Ministry of External Affairs in collaboration with Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation. During their visit to India, the Russian scholars are being taken for a cultural visit to Bodh Gaya and Varanasi before their return.
( With inputs from ANI )