PhosAgro CEO Elected to the Board of Governors of the UNESCO International Centre for Education in Mining Engineering

SAINT PETERSBURG, Russia, Feb. 20, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- PhosAgro CEO Andrey Guryev, a member of the Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO, was elected to the Board of Governors of the UNESCO International Centre for Education in Mining Engineering. The decision was taken at the first joint meeting of the Centre's Supervisory Board and Board of Governors.

The agreement to establish the Centre was signed by Russia's Energy Minister, Alexander Novak, and UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay at UNESCO headquarters in Paris in March 2018. The agreement was then ratified by Russia's State Duma and Federation Council and approved by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Established at the St. Petersburg Mining University, the Centre's aims include the establishment of a unified system of international professional certification for engineers, unification of educational standards at specialised institutions of higher learning in countries throughout the world and the creation and introduction of innovative technologies to increase the efficiency and improve the safety of companies in the mining industry

The Centre's highest governing bodies are its Supervisory Board and Board of Governors.

Vladimir Litvinenko, Rector of the St Petersburg Mining University, was elected Chairman of the Board of Governors, and Vladimir Borzenkov, Vice-Rector for International Activities at the St Petersburg Mining University, was elected Director-General of the International Centre.

The Centre's governing bodies include representatives of the executive and legislative branches of the Russian Federation, civic organisations and foundations, UNESCO, as well as leading officials from various Russian regions, high-tech Russian companies (SIBUR, PhosAgro, RussNeft) and institutions of higher learning in Russia, Germany, Austria, Finland and other countries. These include Valentina Matviyenko, Chairwoman of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation; Alexander Novak, Energy Minister of the Russian Federation; Andrei Fursenko, aide to the President of the Russian Federation; Eleonora Mitrofanova, Head of Rossotrudnichestvo; Natalia Komarova, Governor of Ugra; Mikhail Shvydkoy, Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for International Cultural Cooperation; Grigory Ordzhonikidze, Executive Secretary of the Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO; and Arkady Dvorkovich, Chairman of the Skolkovo Foundation. 

"We greatly appreciate the opportunity to take part in this project," said PhosAgro CEO Andrey Guryev. "We have proven that we can be a reliable partner for UNESCO and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in implementing global programmes in the areas of science, education and food security, as well as in achieving the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. We recently extended our agreement with UNESCO on the implementation of the Green Chemistry for Life programme until 2022. During the five years that we have been running this programme, 34 young scientists from 26 countries have received financial support. They are all engaged in fundamental and applied research related to the effective use of natural and secondary resources, the development of nature-based technologies, and finding solutions to systemic problems in the area of sustainable development."

In December of last year, PhosAgro became the first private Russian business to sign a partnership agreement with the Russian Academy of Sciences. PhosAgro is working with the Academy of Sciences on the creation of state-of-the-art technologies that can be used in the mineral fertilizer industry.

The St Petersburg Mining University is one of the key training centres for PhosAgro. The Company has established an effective partnership with the university aimed at creating a system for safe mining in quarries and underground, the use of digital models for optimal mine development, and for carrying out expert evaluations of technical documentation.

"We are ready to play a role in the development of the International Centre for Education in Mining Engineering, a new project that will enhance our partnership for the benefit of the entire global community," said Andrey Guryev when discussing the potential for cooperation with the International Centre. 

"The fact that the International Centre for Education in Mining Engineering was established here underlines the Mining University's leading position. We plan not only to maintain our close cooperation with the university in terms of teaching students but also to send specialists here for advanced training, thus ensuring their integration into the international professional environment.

"I am certain that the work of the International Centre will be of great benefit. Training specialists for production today is a painstaking, highly demanding and lengthy process. We start this process in schools, where we have established special PhosAgro Classes to select and train future students. World-renowned academics teach at the colleges that we sponsor. We train the most talented students in targeted areas in specialised institutions of higher learning; to carry out this process, we choose only the best, most reputable institutions."

Guryev also noted that participation in the work of the Centre will be the Company's contribution to improving Russian and foreign education in mining engineering, as well as to strengthening the system of training highly qualified engineering personnel. PhosAgro's role will be pivotal in ensuring that mining engineers receive the training they need in accordance with international standards.'