NEW DELHI, December 11. /TASS/. A conference bringing together Indians who graduated from Soviet and Russian universities has opened in the Kerala capital of Trivandrum, with more than 100 people attending the meeting, Ratish Nair, the director of the Russian House in this southern Indian city and honorary consul of Russia in Trivandrum, told a TASS correspondent by phone.

"This was the first time we organized such a conference, which gathered together graduates of universities of the USSR and Russia from four southern states of India - Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. More than 100 people came to this meeting, mostly medical school graduates, as medical specialties are the most popular among Indians who study in Russia," Nair said.

He noted that the Russian House in Trivandrum, where the gathering was held, brought together former students of different generations - from a doctor who received his diploma in Astrakhan in 1974 to those who graduated from various Russian universities just last year. Among the guests at the event were Additional Chief Secretary to the Government of Kerala Vasudevan Venu, Russian Consul General in Chennai Oleg Avdeev, Vice Chancellor of Kerala University Mohanan Kunnummal, a representative of the Medical Association of India and an alumnus of the Russian university John Panicker.

"Such conferences should be held more often so that graduates of Soviet and Russian higher educational institutions can get acquainted and cooperate," Avdeev told TASS.

Ratish Nair pointed out that the program of the event included round tables on the topics "Role of USSR and Russian alumni in strengthening India's health care" and "Soviet and Russian alumni in strengthening relations between the two countries." "Everyone at the meeting said that Soviet and Russian alumni, of which I am one, undoubtedly play an important role in the development of people-to-people diplomacy," Nair pointed out.