Educational Cooperation between Russia and Laos

The objective of the research is to determine the features of educational cooperation between Russia and Laos with a focus on the period since 2010, when the intensification of bilateral political, military and economic ties between Moscow and Vientiane within the framework of a bilateral “strategic partnership” occurred. While preparing the paper, the authors used bilateral agreements concluded between Russia and Laos, materials from official websites of state bodies and universities, publications of Russian ambassadors in Laos, statistical data from the Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education, and materials from news agencies. The paper discusses the legal basis for cooperation, as well as the factors and dynamics of the allocation of scholarships by Rossotrudnichestvo for Lao citizens; analyzes the open statistics of the Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education regarding the education of students from Laos; cites the cases of interuniversity cooperation between Russia and Laos. The research reached the following conclusions. The legal basis of Russian-Lao relations in the field of education are the 1994 agreement on cultural and scientific cooperation and the protocol on the equivalence of documents on education and academic degrees, signed by the USSR and Laos in 1978. Due to lack of demand in the 2000s the Rossotrudnichestvo’s quota for Laos was the minimum. Since 2010, against the background of the deepening of bilateral ties and the growth of the study of the Russian language in Laos, the number of Rossotrudnichestvo scholarships for citizens of Laos has gradually increased, from 15 to 93 for 2022. The statistics of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science based on the reports of universities "VPO-1" shows that, firstly, the vast majority of Lao citizens study at the expense of the Rossotrudnichestvo scholarships. Secondly, a significant increase in the enrollment of students from Laos to Russian universities has been taking place since 2015. Thirdly, in Tomsk, mainly due to admission to Tomsk State University, the largest student diaspora of Laotians in Russia has formed. Fourth, despite the covid pandemic, in 2020 enrollment remained at the same level, but dropped noticeably in 2021. Fifth, there is the problem of successful completion of studies by the students from Laos. For example, in 2017 47 citizens of Laos received Rossotrudnichestvo scholarships for undergraduate programs of Russian universities, and in 2021 only 25 students graduated. The students from Laos require additional support from Russian universities. The most active in interuniversity cooperation between Russia and Laos are regional universities from Vladivostok, Tomsk, Kaluga. The authors declare no conflicts of interests.

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