On May 20th, RUC Vice President for International Affairs, YI Zhihong, met with Ulviyye Abbasova, Director of the Azerbaijan Center for Multi-Culturalism and Dean of the English Department of Baku Slavic University. During their discussion in RUC’s Mingde Building, the two sides focused on strengthening cooperation between Renmin University and institutes of higher learning in Azerbaijan. Director Ulviyye Abbasova gave an overview of higher education in Azerbaijan generally and offered an introduction to Baku Slavic University; she also highlighted the important links between the People’s Republic of China and Azerbaijan, a country of rich cultural diversity and with an ancient history. As China continues to promote its One Belt One Road initiative in the region, it is hoped that the two countries can benefit from increased cultural interaction and dialogue in higher education, which will offer opportunities not only for collaboration at the institutional level, but also for creating deeper mutual understanding between the two peoples, as student and faculty exchanges are organized between Baku Slavic University, Baku State University and RUC, as well as universities across China. Ulviyye Abbasova also introduced her university’s summer program, inviting RUC students to spend their summer there on a new student exchange program. Deputy Director of RUC’s International Office, LI Zhenshi, joined the meeting.