HSE Center for African Studies signed cooperation agreements with African entities

During the participation in the Global Digital Forum in Nizhny Novgorod on June 5-6, 2025, representatives of the HSE Center for African Studies have signed two agreements on international cooperation. One of them established cooperation with the Universal Digital Services Fund (FDSUT) of the Republic of Senegal, whereas the other – with the University of Gondar of Ethiopia.

An agreement with the Universal Digital Services Fund (FDSUT) of the Republic of Senegal has confirmed cooperation between two parties within the e-Governance Knowledge Sharing Programme for African officials which has been implemented by the HSE Center for African Studies since 2022. The agreement facilitates organizing joint educational events for Senegalese officials on implementing digital technologies in public affairs. It also provides joint research of the opportunities for implementing Senegalese digital projects, in particular the “living lab” project on introducing digital technologies in agriculture, as well as the “Projet d’Accès Universel (PAU)” project on providing mobile broadband services to those Senegalese who live in remote areas.

From the Russian side, the agreement was signed by Victoria Panova, Vice Rector of the HSE University, while on behalf of the Fund it was signed by Ndeye Fatou Ndiaye, Coordinator of the FDSUT. The signing was witnessed by Andrey Maslov, Director of the HSE Center for African Studies, and Mamadou Ndir, Project Coordinator of the Fund.

The second agreement was signed with the University of Gondar, Ethiopia. It establishes collaboration in organizing academic exchanges, conducting joint research in such fields as agriculture, economics and information sciences. In addition, it aims to explore opportunities in using digital technologies to achieve digital sovereignty for African countries.

The agreement was signed by Victoria Panova, Vice Rector of HSE University, and Asrat Atsedeweyn, President of the University of Gondar. The witnesses were Andrey Maslov, Director of the HSE Center for African Studies, on behalf of Russia, and Kehali Jembere Tiruneh, Dean of the College of Agriculture & Environmental Sciences at the University of Gondar, on behalf of Ethiopia.

Remarkably, the first discussions on cooperation between the HSE and the University of Gondar took place in December, 2024, when the delegation of the Center for African Studies visited Addis Ababa. During a working meeting between Andrey Maslov and the President Asrat Atsedeweyn, the parties discussed possible areas of cooperation, including scientific research, academic mobility, joint preparation of expert and analytical publications, and creation of specialized research laboratories.