• Burkina Faso, Russia sign five-year higher education cooperation agreement
• Deal covers academic exchanges, mobility programmes and joint research
• Agreement supports reforms to align training with labour market needs

Burkina Faso and the Russian Federation signed a memorandum of understanding in Ouagadougou on Monday to strengthen cooperation in higher education and science, the Burkinabe Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation (MESRI) said.

The agreement was signed by Adjima Thiombiano, Burkina Faso’s minister of higher education, and Nataliia Krasovskaia, executive director of the Russian Federation’s Center for Public Diplomacy.

The five-year framework aims to deepen collaboration through the exchange of information and expertise, as well as the joint organisation of academic activities. It also provides for the design and implementation of academic mobility programmes for students, teachers and researchers, including university exchanges, internships and summer schools, according to the official statement.

Burkinabe authorities said the agreement addresses a strategic need to build local skills. “The objective is to make higher education and scientific research a driver of emancipation, cooperation and sovereignty,” Thiombiano said at the signing ceremony.

The agreement comes as Burkina Faso reforms its higher education system to better align training with socio-economic needs. Authorities have launched a restructuring of curricula to strengthen specialisation and bring university programmes closer to labour market demand. Under the 2025 higher education reform plan, 30 outdated programmes are set to be closed and 360 new courses created, most of them at postgraduate level, to improve quality and relevance for the country’s productive sectors.

Despite these efforts, the sector continues to face structural challenges. In the 2023-2024 academic year, Burkina Faso had about 225,900 students enrolled in public and private higher education institutions, or roughly 1,000 students per 100,000 inhabitants, well below UNESCO’s recommended benchmark.

On the Russian side, Moscow has increased its educational outreach to Burkinabe students. In the 2024-2025 academic year, the quota of state scholarships awarded to Burkinabe students more than doubled, enabling more than 3,500 Burkinabe to study in Russia. At least 27 additional scholarships are expected to be granted, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a bilateral meeting.

Félicien Houindo Lokossou