MOSCOW, October 26. /TASS/. Russian Prime Minister and Chairman of the United Russia political party Dmitry Medvedev has said he anticipates a growth in the number of foreign students in Russia’s colleges and universities.

Speaking at a session of the General Assembly of the International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP), he called for cultivating ties between young people in different countries.

"It is important that the countries of Asia and the Middle East are the territory of the youth. The majority of the population living in our countries are young people, and joint projects in the humanitarian sphere are bridges to the future," the prime minister noted.

According to Medvedev, "interest in Russia in Asian countries is growing all the time, with many young people from those counties giving preference to the Russian education system." "Last year, over 18,000 people from various countries graduated from our universities. We assume that these figures will be growing," he pointed out.

The prime minister stressed that Moscow was "interested in popularizing the Russian language." "I believe that we should learn each other’s languages," he said.

"There are youth formats at such international organizations as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and BRICS, which hold various festivals and contests. The Student Spring third international festival bringing together representatives of the SCO member-states will be held in Stavropol [southern Russia] next June," the prime minister said. He invited delegates of the International Conference of Asian Political Parties to attend the event.