Vice-Rector for International Relations of Mariupol State University Mykola Trofymenko took part in the Forum of Former Leaders of European Countries took place on May 19th at the premises of the Parliament of Romania. The purpose of meetings and discussions was to spread the culture of peace and to call for support the peaceful reunification of the Korean peninsula. The initiator of the forum was the Korean organization HPWL, which operates within the framework of International Peace Committee.

Topical issues were discussed with the participation of former presidents of Romania, Albania, Croatia, Ukraine, the former chairman of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Belarus, the chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the judge of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Macedonia. Ukraine was represented by Viktor Yushchenko and Mykola Trofimenko, who was invited as an expert on international affairs.

During the opening ceremony former Romanian President Emil Constantinescu addressed the audience and noted the importance of building the culture of peace. The forum program included panel discussions under 2 topics with eloquent names: "Empathy" and "Solidarity". During the first session, former country leaders talked about their countries after the end of the Cold War.

Mykola Trofymenko spoke during the second session, which gave advice on a peaceful solution of the situation on the Korean peninsula. He spoke about the experience of the university with the youth living in the temporarily occupied territory of Donbas.

The vice-rector noted that students from these territories would be able to apply to Mariupol State University under a simplified procedure, i.e. through the Donbas-Ukraine educational center. In addition, together with Lithuanian partners and teachers of the city, online courses on Ukrainian language were developed, and now they are available on the university's website. University students are actively involved in establishing a dialogue with this category of citizens by recording video messages, inviting students to apply to Ukrainian universities.

This information was very interesting for the participants of the forum from Korea, so they invited Mykola Trofymenko to visit South Korea in September this year. Within the framework of the visit, a number of important negotiations and a trip to North Korea are expected.