First Lady meets President of Strasbourg University
By Nigar Orujova
Azerbaijan’s First Lady and President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, Mehriban Aliyeva met with University of Strasbourg President Alain Beretz on October 26.
As the head of the working group on Azerbaijan-France inter-parliamentary relations, Aliyeva praised bilateral relations between the two countries, particularly in the political, economic and humanitarian spheres.
The first lady also spoke of joint projects between the two countries in the fields of education, culture and science.
“All this contributes to the strengthening of friendly relations between Azerbaijan and France,” she added.
Aliyeva further noted that a French high school would open in Azerbaijan initiated by the Azerbaijani and French presidents, adding that “concrete steps have already been taken on this project.”
Beretz expressed confidence that his visit to Azerbaijan would contribute to facilitating the opening of the French high school and highlighted its importance.
The university is a joint project of Strasbourg University and the Azerbaijan Oil and Industry University.
Earlier, the Baku French Lycee, with support from the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, has been created with a view to ensure that French-language citizens living temporarily or permanently in Azerbaijan, as well as citizens of Azerbaijan, have a chance to study in French.
The foundation of the Lycee was laid during an official visit by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to Baku in October 2011.
President Ilham Aliyev and Mehriban Aliyeva attended the inauguration of the school last September.
Located in the White City project in Baku, the Lycee is designed for 320 pupils to receive primary school education, including preschool education, and college-lycee groups.
The education system will be based on the classic 12-year French education model, starting with a kindergarten. The program is conducted in the French language, complying with the requirements of the French national education system.
Graduating pupils will be issued a certificate complying with the standards and requirements of the French National Education Ministry and will have a chance to continue their education at any higher education institution in France.
Cooperation between the two countries is also active in the petrochemical, food, agricultural, machine engineering, tourism and other spheres. Some 91 companies from France are involved in oil and gas projects in Azerbaijan, and over 50 French companies are involved in non-oil sector projects.
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Nigar Orujova is AzerNews’s staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @o_nigar
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