From December 1 to 8, Odil Gafarov, Deputy Director of the Institute for Advanced International Studies (IAIS) at the University of World Economy and Diplomacy (UWED), and Mushtariy Usmonova, Leading Research Fellow at the IAIS Center for European Studies, visited France, the Netherlands, and Belgium with the aim of strengthening professional contacts and developing cooperation with leading European research institutes, analytical centers, and universities. During the trip to the Netherlands on December 3-4, the focus was on expanding academic partnerships and establishing sustainable channels for expert and analytical exchange with leading Dutch universities and institutes.

Working meetings were held with representatives of the University of Amsterdam – Professor Michael Kemper, Head of the Department of Eastern European and Eurasian Studies, and Professor of Humanities Dr.Krisztina Lajosi-Moore, as well as Professor Isaac Scarborough and Associate Professor of Humanities Morena Skalamera from Leiden University.

The parties discussed opportunities for academic exchanges between UWED and Dutch universities, including the mobility of teachers, students, and researchers, participation in joint educational and research initiatives, and the use of Erasmus+ tools and bilateral cooperation formats.

Meetings were also held with Agha Bayramov, co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Hague Research Institute, and with researchers from the Clingendael Institute, including Niels Drost and his colleagues. The meetings confirmed mutual interest in more regular interaction, in particular the creation of joint discussion platforms and cooperation within research networks and projects. Opportunities for deepening analytical exchanges and joint production of expert content were discussed.

Following the trip, the IAIS plans to continue working on the details of the agreements with its Dutch partners, draw up a list of priority topics for joint materials, and determine the formats for interaction.