Soviet Alumni celebrates 40th anniversary in Dhaka
The 40th anniversary of the Soviet Alumni Association, Bangladesh (Saab) has been widely celebrated in Dhaka.
Coinciding with the anniversary, the 50th anniversary of the admission of the first batch of Bengali students to Soviet universities was also celebrated, read a press release.
Saab Acting President Engineer Taqsem A Khan recalled the journey of Soviet graduates who set the first committee at the Soviet Cultural Centre (Russian House) in Dhaka on this day in 1982.
He said the first group of Soviet government scholarship students arrived in the USSR on 7 August in 1972, just after the visit of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to Moscow.
During the following years, more than 5,000 graduates who received their higher studies played a significant role in the development of Bangladesh, which is still ongoing.
They are not only experts in different fields but also real people in Russian education, he added.
Professor Dr Kazi Saleh Ahmed and Dr Khondokar Bazlul Haque, the first and second presidents of Saab, respectively, among other ones from the first batch, delivered speeches about their experiences and actual achievements.
Russian Ambassador to Bangladesh HE Aleksandr Mantytsky and Director of the Russian House in Dhaka Maxim Dobrokhotov were also present on the occasion.