RABAT, May 27. /TASS/. The Pan-African union of associations of graduates from the universities of the former Soviet Union founded in 2017 will expand, its chair, Mohamed Faqiri told TASS.

Faqiri, who also chairs the Moroccan association of the alumni of the former Soviet universities, is participating in the first forum of such associations held in Rabat.

He said that since the Pan-African union of associations was founded, "many things happened - the coronavirus pandemic, geopolitical changes. During this time, we managed to complete legal procedures and register our Pan-African union. It is recognized by Moroccan authorities and this helps us proceed," Faqiri noted.

"We maintain ties with 40 alumni associations of Soviet and Russian universities in African countries that are not in our Pan-African union. And we plan to expand our ranks. In order to do so, we need to work hard and, of course, we need the support of African governments and Russia," he stressed.

Faqiri emphasized that the Moroccan association brings together the older generation as well as young people who had just recently graduated from Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian universities. "The goal of this forum is to shape proposals and recommendations for the African governments and Russian authorities," he concluded.