22 November 2021
On November 22d, MGIMO University launched a new advanced training program entitled “Negative social and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and how to overcome it”. The program has been carried out in cooperation with UNITAR since 2015 with a view to implementing the Program of developing the potential of civil servants from the CIS member states and other countries.
The opening ceremony of the tenth cohort of MGIMO — UNITAR training program was moderated by Eugene Glazov, Deputy Director of the School of Business and International Proficiency. Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin and UNITAR Executive Director Nikhil Seth addressed the attendees via video link.
Sergey Vershinin noted the exceptional relevance of the program and its contribution to the establishment of an equal and open dialogue between the countries in these challenging times. “The pandemic has had a detrimental impact on all spheres of our lives and reminded us how fragile and vulnerable our world is,” said the Deputy Minister. “We have a simple and universal recipe for solving any complex international problems: an equal and open dialogue,” he emphasized. He called for regarding the MGIMO – UNITAR training program as a contribution to such a dialogue and wished good luck to the participants.
Nikhil Seth, Executive Director of the UN Training and Research Institute, expressed satisfaction with the start of the next program. He recalled the long-term cooperation between MGIMO University and UNITAR on a number of topical issues, which made possible this anniversary program. This year, it focuses on the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and ways to cope with them. “The pandemic has affected the life of every person, every family, every state. The COVID-19 crisis turned out to be global: all spheres of life at all levels are affected,” he said. The economies of all countries have suffered, and the crisis is not over yet: the problem of the pandemic persists, as does uncertainty, but active cooperation continues at the international level for the sake of the future. Nikhil Seth stressed that the courses will include presentations by experts from a number of organizations on ways to overcome the crisis in various fields.
The syllabus covers such topics as sustainable development in health, labor, automation, digitalization and management of smart cities; development of agriculture and strengthening food security; combating climate change. The lecturers are top practitioners from MGIMO University, heads of large companies and non-profit organizations (Sberbank, Mother and Child Group, Netris, the All-Russian Union of Insurers) and international organizations (the World Bank Group, the International Labor Organization, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Organization for Animal Health).
The course is attended by diplomats from Russia, Angola, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Cambodia, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Serbia, South Ossetia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam.
The first lecture “Trends in the post-pandemic recovery of the Russian insurance market” was delivered by Igor Yurgens, President of the All-Russian Union of Insurers, Professor of the MGIMO Department of Risk Management and Insurance.
