MOSCOW, March 24. /TASS/. The return to the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia (RUDN) the name of Patrice Lumumba, the first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, will contribute to further strengthening of friendly relations between Russia and African countries, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"We are convinced that this landmark event on the eve of the second Russia-Africa summit will serve to further strengthen our country's traditionally friendly ties with African states and their peoples," the ministry said, noting that it welcomed the decision.
"The return of the historical name to the university is yet another evidence of the particular importance of the African direction in Russian foreign policy, as well as Russia's firm determination to contribute to the formation of a new fair system of international relations, in which there will be no place for colonialism and neo-colonialism," the Russian Foreign Ministry stressed.
On Thursday, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, speaking in the State Duma, said that the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia has been once again been bestowed with the name of Patrice Lumumba, the first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who became a symbol of the struggle of African peoples for independence.
The Peoples' Friendship University of Russia was founded in 1960. It bore the name of Patrice Lumumba from 1961 to 1992. In 1992 it was renamed the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia by decision of the Russian government. The university’s primary mission was to train highly qualified national specialists for Asian, African and Latin American countries, but Soviet students also attended the university. According to the university’s website, it now tops the list of Russian universities in terms of the percentage of foreign students in the overall student body. The university awards degrees in several dozen academic disciplines.