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In the period from April 18 to 25, Secretary General of the Eurasian Peoples’ Assembly Andrey Belyaninov held a number of meetings with the heads of diplomatic missions of the Syrian Arab Republic, the Republic of Angola and the Republic of Benin at the invitation of the ambassadors of the above countries. The meetings were attended by Deputy Secretary General Yulia Petrova, who oversees the activities of the Department for Sustainable Development and the International Committee "Greater Eurasia – Africa".
The visits were organized in support of the development of the Eurasian Peoples’ Assembly’s program to expand cooperation with the MENA countries, West and Central Africa, as well as to discuss a number of existing and planned projects of the Eurasian Peoples’ Assembly.
At a meeting with the Ambassador of the Syrian Arab Republic, His Excellency Dr. Riad Haddad the parties discussed multilateral cooperation at the platform of the Eurasian Peoples’ Assembly. There was a plan for the implementation of the Assembly's project "Smart Solutions for Cities: East-West" presented. The project received a grant from the A.M. Gorchakov Public Diplomacy Support Foundation. Since September 2022 the project includes the participation of public, scientific and educational organizations of the MENA countries, including the largest Syrian universities. The project, initiated by the Department for Sustainable Development of the Eurasian peoples’ Assembly, aims to create effective international research partnerships to accelerate the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The project was also confirmed by the Eurasian Peoples’ Assembly partner – the Union of Arab Universities, which unites about 300 universities from 22 countries.
Andrei Belyaninov congratulated the recently accredited Heads of Missions, His Excellency Augusto da Silva Cunha, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Angola, and His Excellency Andre Akambi Okunlola-Biau, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Benin.
During the meetings, there were projects and programs implemented within the International Committee of the Eurasian Peoples’ Assembly "Greater Eurasia – Africa" were presented. The Committee has managed to prove itself by major international events, including UN programs. The projects implemented by the Eurasian Peoples’ Assembly on the territory of Benin have been supported by the Embassy of this country for several years and affect interaction in the social, cultural and economic fields, including in building sustainable food systems and promoting energy security.
The rapid economic development of the Republic of Angola is the pride of the region. At the meeting with Mr. Augusto da Silva Cunha, issues of coordinating cooperation at the platform of the Eurasian Peoples’ Assembly in the field of education, culture and sustainable business were discussed.
The countries of the Middle East and West Africa are represented in the partnership network of the Eurasian Peoples’ Assembly through a wide range of state and non-state organizations and companies. In this regard, the Eurasian Peoples’ Assembly notes a significant increase in interest in its projects in these regions from the countries of Europe and Asia. Thus, the Assembly has become one of the most important platforms of the Eurasian continent, organizing and implementing divergent and convergent pan-Eurasian interaction.