DUSHANBE, December 16, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- A government-to-government agreement between Tajikistan and Russia on the procedure of establishment and functioning of branches of Russian higher educational institutions in Tajikistan and branches of Tajik higher educational institutions in the Russian Federation was signed in Moscow on December 14, Asia-plus has learned from Noilsho Nouraliyev, a spokesman for the Ministry of Education (MoE) of Tajikistan.

The agreement was inked by Tajik Minister of Education Abdujabbor Rahmonov and Russian Minister of Education and Science Andrey Fursenko.

Under this document, the branches of Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys and Moscow Power Engineering Institute (Technical University) are expected to be established in Tajikistan in 2010, Nouraliyev said.

State Technological University "Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys" is Russia’s primary technological university in the field of steelmaking and metallurgy.  It was established in 1918 as a part of the Moscow Mining Academy. In 1930, it became independent.  It adopted its current name in 1962 after having been united with the Institute of Nonferrous Metals and Gold.  The status of Technological University was awarded in 1993.  MISIS is the leading university of the Higher Metallurgical Education Association, whose members include universities from Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan.  It has joint degree programs with the Freiberg University of Mining and Technology in Freiberg, Germany and the Institut National Polytechnique de Lorraine in Nancy, France.

Moscow Power Engineering Institute (Technical University) is one of the largest and leading technical universities in Russia in the area of power engineering, electronics and IT.  It was founded in 1930.  Moscow Power Engineering Institute (Technical University) was created by uniting several faculties of the Bauman Moscow State Technical University and Plekhanov Russian Academy of Economics.