MEETING WITH THE AMBASSADOR OF THE LITHUANIAN REPUBLIC

A meeting was held between the Chairwoman of the Board of JSC «Center for International Programs», Aliya Ospanova, and the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Lithuanian Republic to Kazakhstan, Egidijus Navikas, along with the Embassy's Economic Attaché, Julius Mite.

During the meeting, the discussion centered around expanding cooperation under the «Bolashak» program and the «500 visiting scholars» scientific internships. Many Lithuanian universities expressed their readiness to become strategic partners of the «Center for International Programs» and to be included in the list of recommended universities for study. Currently, 15 students are studying in Lithuania, and 50 scholars have received their master's degrees and successfully completed internships at universities such as Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Vilnius University, and Vytautas Magnus University, among others.

Ambassador Egidijus Navikas proposed organizing a meeting with graduates of Lithuanian universities in Kazakhstan to create a platform for idea exchange, strengthen connections, and support the alumni network.

Aliya Ospanova, the Chairwoman of the Board of JSC «Center for International Programs», shared the success story of Medet Makhanbet, a distinguished graduate who interned under the «Bolashak» program at Vilnius University Hospital Santaros Klinikos. Medet is the first ENT surgeon in Kazakhstan to perform endoscopic transcanal tympanoplasty (a method previously used in only five countries worldwide, with Kazakhstan becoming the sixth). He developed a new surgical method for tympanic membrane reconstruction and has performed over 5,000 operations. It is noteworthy that medical programs are the most frequently chosen by Kazakhstani students for study and internships in Lithuania.

At the conclusion of the meeting, both parties agreed to explore the possibility of organizing visits by representatives of Lithuanian universities to various regions of Kazakhstan.