During the official visit to St. Petersburg, the delegation from Balochistan visited Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University.
Rector Vladimir Litvinenko, during a working meeting with the governor of the province, Sheikh Jaffar Khan Mandokhail, proposed to begin cooperation by including a representative from Balochistan in the annual program for training foreign managers in the raw materials sector, "Managing Subsurface Resources Issues." If there are more potential participants, the Mining University is prepared to create a separate group for Pakistanis.
Students from Balochistan universities can also participate in short-term vacation educational programs ("Summer Schools"). The benefits of this interdisciplinary training format have already been appreciated by many international students, and the list of participating countries is constantly expanding.
Prospective students can enroll in preparatory courses and later become students of the oldest technical university in Russia. The rector noted that the best interests of Balochistan's economy would be better served not by admitting students under the general quota, but by organizing a targeted training scheme with subsequent employment in priority jobs for the province.
Governor Jaffar Khan Mandokhail supported Vladimir Litvinenko's proposals. According to him, the main purpose of the visit to St. Petersburg was precisely to explore ways of cooperation in training specialists for Balochistan's mining industry.
«We have made significant progress in the agricultural sector, and today our priority is industrialization. First and foremost, the development of advanced technologies for the extraction and processing of mineral resources. The province covers about 40% of Pakistan's territory, and its share of the country's raw materials is 85%. Our hopes today are focused on increasing the efficiency of gas extraction, as well as developing the extraction of gold, lithium, and several other metals» – said Jaffar Khan Mandokhail.
