On December 12-13, a delegation from Vitebsk State University named after P.M. Masherov, led by Rector Valentina Bogatyreva and Vice-Rector Irina Shomkina, conducted a working visit to St. Petersburg to strengthen international cooperation.

During the visit, the delegation participated in the XII International Forum "Eurasian Economic Perspective". Professor Valentina Vasilyevna Bogatyreva, Rector of VSU, Doctor of Economic Sciences, delivered a keynote report titled "Economic and Social Potential of Belarus-Russia Interaction" at the session "Economic Cooperation within the Union State of Russia and Belarus".

The delegation held negotiations with the leadership of the Institute for Regional Economic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Following the international research cooperation agreement signed in October, this meeting identified priority areas for joint research on pressing topics.

On December 13, a roadmap for scientific and educational cooperation was signed between St. Petersburg State University of Aerospace Instrumentation (SUAI) and Vitebsk State University.

These two institutions - the latter bearing the name of Soviet Hero Pyotr Masherov - have established substantive partnership despite relatively recent collaboration. In May 2024, the universities signed an agreement covering educational, scientific, and socio-cultural cooperation, with VSU students already completing internships at SUAI on "Intelligent Information Systems and Technologies".

Rector Bogatyreva praised the cooperation and presented VSU as a cultural-educational center and multidisciplinary university that actively develops new programs and applied specialties while maintaining fundamental disciplines. Both institutions identified engineering fields, information technologies, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence as key collaboration priorities. The signed roadmap covers educational, research, innovation, student development and international activities. The parties also discussed academic exchanges, joint degree programs, participation in key academic and cultural events, and organization of seasonal schools.