MOSCOW, September 13. /TASS/. Russia's cooperation with foreign universities in the field of science and higher education is steadily developing, Russian Science and Higher Education Minister Valery Falkov said.

"Cooperation with foreign universities is not only continuing but also expanding. It is progressing in various areas, both in higher education and science," he said in an interview with the Rossiya-24 channel.

Falkov noted that a number of projects in science and education are underway jointly with BRICS. "In particular, there is a project [with Malaysia] concerning the extraction of collagen from jellyfish from the seas that surround Russia and Malaysia. <…> The grant was received jointly by our countries and has been implemented by our colleagues for three years. New dual-degree educational programs are also being developed in partnership with Malaysian institutions," the minister said.

He also highlighted the agreement with China as a significant development. "Moscow State University has reached an agreement with Beijing University to establish an institute for fundamental research, and now this initiative will be implemented," he said. He added that branches of Russian universities in countries such as Uzbekistan and Egypt are progressing well.

Falkov recalled that Russia is chairing BRICS this year, and will host "a big conference, a big forum of science ministers of the BRICS countries."

"Considering that colleagues will be joining not only from member states of the association but also from countries that have applied and expressed interest in participating, it is already a very significant community. There, we discuss joint projects ranging from a unified university ranking system to the use of mega science, an area in which Russia excels," he said.