Moscow (GNP): The Institute of Peace and Diplomatic Studies (IPDS) and the World Peoples Assembly have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to work together on peace-building and public diplomacy. The agreement was concluded on the sidelines of the Second World Peoples Assembly 2026, held in Moscow on September 18 and 19.
IPDS President Dr Farhat Asif and the Assembly’s Secretary General, Belyaninov Andrey Yurievich, signed the document at a ceremony attended by delegates and representatives from participating countries. The MoU is expected to set a framework for cooperation in peace-building, public diplomacy, dialogue among civilisations, and academic and research exchange.
The agreement also lists practical steps. Both organisations are expected to explore joint research projects, exchange delegations, take part in each other’s events and share publications and analytical material. They also intend to organise conferences, seminars and policy discussions that bring together scholars, diplomats, civil society representatives and thought leaders from different regions.
Dr Asif said the partnership reflects IPDS’s commitment to advancing peace and diplomacy through engagement between peoples and institutions across borders. She noted that in a period of shifting global dynamics, platforms that encourage dialogue among societies carry particular weight, and added that IPDS looks forward to offering its research expertise and regional perspective to the Assembly’s initiatives.
Yurievich welcomed the agreement and pointed to the Assembly’s role as an international platform for constructive exchange among civil society organisations, experts and public figures.
That role matched the purpose of the Moscow gathering, which brought together participants from numerous countries to discuss global cooperation, cultural understanding and the part civil society can play in shaping a more balanced international order. The MoU is one of the agreements concluded during the event.
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Dr Asif also used the two days to speak on a wider regional theme. She took part in a high-level panel on shared values within the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), titled “Shanghai Spirit: Commitment to Common Values and Ideals,” held at the World Trade Center of Moscow. SCO Secretary General Nurlan Yermekbayev and Bakhtiyor Khakimov, the Russian President’s Special Representative for SCO Affairs, delivered welcome addresses.
At the panel, Dr Asif spoke about how public diplomacy and people-to-people engagement can turn the SCO’s founding principles into everyday cooperation. She said institutes and civil society organisations have a growing role alongside governments in building trust across the region, a point that closely follows the aims of the new MoU.
The signing ceremony closed with an exchange of the signed documents and a commitment from both sides to move quickly towards implementing the agreement.
