New Delhi: India and Russia had rounds of discussion to strengthen cooperation in higher education, with a focus on expanding academic collaboration and creating new opportunities for students and educational institutions in both countries.

Both countries discussed potential areas of mutual interest in higher education and reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening cooperation in the sector, the Ministry of Education said on Friday.

Deepti Gaur Mukherjee, Secretary in the Department of Higher Education, held an interaction with Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, Mogilevsky Konstantin Ilyich, on Thursday, the ministry said in a post on X.

"Both sides discussed potential areas of mutual interest and reaffirmed their intent to strengthen higher education cooperation between the two countries," it said.

Mukerjee was appointed the higher education secretary as part of a top-level bureaucratic reshuffle effected by the Centre on August 10.

She succeeded Vineet Joshi, who was last month appointed secretary in the Ministry of Panchayati Raj.

With inputs of PTI