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SKOLKOVO, RUSSIA: Singapore's Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has met Russian President Dmitri Medvedev on the third anniversary of the establishment of the Moscow School of Management Skolkovo, Russia's first business school.
Minister Mentor Lee, who is on the school's advisory board, also addressed students and told them the importance of keeping Russia an open country.
Russia's top politicians and business leaders gathered in Skolkovo, 30 kilometres west of Moscow, for the school's anniversary.
Launched three years ago with the participation of private businesses and state support, the project is coming into force only now - with the first group of full-time MBA students receiving their student IDs.
Mr Medvedev said: "This is a different type of education that we've never had in our country but which we really need. Russian Federation, the Soviet Union, the Russian Empire before that were famous for their classical universities but we have never had business education."
The school's MBA programme is designed to cater to 240 students a year.
This year, there were less than 40 students, perhaps because the Russian economy is still recovering from the effects of the global financial crisis.
Wilfried Vanhonacker, the Dean of the school, however, remains optimistic. "Our focus has always been the emerging markets and if anything, the crisis has brought out the importance of emerging markets and the economic development in Russia and in China as locomotives to maybe pull the rest of the world out of recession. I think we picked the right objective and focus and the crisis is helping us."
Mr Vanhonacker also praised the advice and support the business school has been receiving from Singapore and from Minister Mentor Lee in particular. He said: "It's a very open economy, it's an economy in which the government has played a very important role, which is totally new in development markets now. So, we can learn a lot and we will bring it into pedagogical model. You know, we are very happy with our link and our support and the insight that Minister Mentor gives."
Minister Mentor Lee, who has been a member of the school's advisory board since its foundation in 2006, received a warm welcome from President Medvedev.
"Dear and respected Minister Mentor, it is a great pleasure to see you and to thank you for the personal input you made in our school, that you agreed to become a member of its advisory board and for performing your responsibilities in good faith," said Mr Medvedev.
Minister Mentor Lee said the Skolkovo business school project is important as Russia needs a generation of people who would be able to better connect Russia with the world.
He said: "You have now entered into the world economy, no longer isolated, and you must produce a generation of young people who are able to connect with the world and maximize the advantages that the world offers you," said Minister Mentor Lee.
"Without the world, Singapore would not be able to develop. It was because of the advanced countries around the world and our links with them - in trade, education, investments, connections in tourism - that we were able to ramp up our society in less than 40 years."
Mr Lee also urged students to seize the opportunity to create more connections with the world so as to further develop Russia.
The meeting between President Medvedev and Minister Mentor Lee was not only to talk about the school.
The Russian president also said he plans to visit Singapore in November with his first official visit.
He said he is looking forward to see Singapore and to learn from the economic experience of Minister Mentor Lee.
- CNA/ir
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