Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Abkhazia Oleg Bartsits congratulated MGIMO Rector Anatoly Torkunov on his birthday.

The congratulation says, in particular:

"Please accept our most sincere words of gratitude for your outstanding personal contribution to strengthening humanitarian ties between the Republic of Abkhazia and the Russian Federation. MGIMO has always been a key platform for training personnel for the foreign policy departments of the Soviet Union and Russia, but under your leadership, the University has reached new standards of quality and level of training.

We especially thank you for your unflagging attention to the training of diplomatic personnel for the Republic of Abkhazia. Thanks to your personal support, dozens of Abkhazian students received an excellent education within the MGIMO. As graduates, they make an invaluable contribution to the development of the Foreign Ministry and the state building of the Republic, and the importance of this work cannot be overestimated.

I would like to thank you separately for establishing advanced training courses for Abkhazian diplomats and inviting the delegation of the Republic of Abkhazia to take part in them this year. This initiative is a clear indication of the depth of our mutual understanding and the high level of bilateral cooperation."

Oleg Bartsits wished Anatoly Torkunov good health, inexhaustible energy, cheerfulness and long life.