Havana, June 24, (RHC), – The Federal University of Rio Grande del Sur, located in the most southern state of Brazil, will begin next year a close academic cooperation with Cuba’s Juan Marinello Institute for Cultural Research (ICIC).

Exchanges of professors and students, workshops and educational agreements will nurture the initiative that on Monday had its first expression with the carrying out of the panel “Relaciones Internacionales en America Latina” (International Relations in Latin America), at the headquarters of the Cuban institution.

Sonia Ranincheski, Doctor of Sociology and professor of the department of graduation in Economy and International Relations of the foreign university, participated in a dialogue aimed at analyzing the characteristics of the Brazilian foreign policy over the last 20 years.

Likewise, Henrique Carlos de Oliveira, Doctor of Political Sciences and professor of the Federal University of Rio Grande del Sur, spoke with participants about the role of integration projects like the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) and the Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR).

Oliveira, a researcher with the World Values Survey, a project developed in 80 nations, also pointed out that medical cooperation between Cuba and Brazil has a special merit, since the island’s physicians visit areas not previously explored by professionals of that nation.