Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani meeting participants of the 8th meeting of the Committee of Ministers of Education of GCC countries yesterday. The Prime Minister welcomed the guests, wishing them success in their meeting in Doha.
Doha, Qatar: Qatar hosted 8th meeting of GCC Minister of Education and 24th meeting of GCC Ministers of Higher Education and Scientific Research yesterday.
Minister of Education and Higher Education H E Buthaina bint Ali Al Jabr Al Nuaimi chaired the two meetings in the presence of Secretary-General of GCC H E Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi.
At the opening of the two meetings, the Minister of Education and Higher Education extended thanks and appreciation to Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Their Majesties and Highnesses leaders of the GCC countries for their support and care for education in the GCC countries.
She thanked Oman for its fruitful presidency of the committee of the GCC Ministers of Education, and the GCC General Secretariat for its tireless efforts to support and facilitate the committee’s work.
She noted that the 8th meeting of GCC Minister of Education would discuss a host of significant topics and issues, especially those related to directives of Their Majesties and Highnesses leaders of the GCC countries, including the Riyadh Declaration of the 42nd session of the Supreme Council of the GCC countries regarding enhancing international cooperation, and the Al Ula Declaration for the 41st session on education during crises.
Minister of Education and Higher Education H E Buthaina bint Ali Al Jabr Al Nuaimi (third left) with Their Excellencies GCC Education Ministers and Secretary-General of the GCC H E Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi during the meeting in Doha yesterday.
Al Nuaimi stressed that all these announcements reflect the shared future vision of the leaders and their great interest in developing education in the GCC countries.
In this context, she said the meeting’s agenda includes vital topics, including cooperation in achieving the fourth goal of the sustainable development goals of quality education, enhancing cooperation with countries and international and regional organisations, and discussing the protection of moral, religious and family values in Gulf societies, in addition to topics and proposals related to information security, artificial intelligence, and on-the-job training.
She emphasised that these topics reflect ongoing efforts to enhance the quality of education and support innovation, digital integration, and cybersecurity in education.
Al Nuaimi added that the future of education is linked to the ability to exchange experiences, develop capabilities, and benefit from the successful experiences of other countries. GCC countries must constantly think about the suitability of their educational systems to the needs of today and tomorrow, focus on strengthening their educational systems to meet future challenges, develop the educational and moral values of young people, determine the skills required for the future work market, and develop effective and innovative educational policies to support achieving the goals of the 2030 sustainable development plan.
Albudaiwi extended thanks and appreciation to H H the Amir for Qatar’s hosting of this meeting, for the constant and ongoing support for the joint Gulf action, and for the tireless efforts to enhance the educational process and raise the efficiency of the education system in the GCC countries.
In her opening speech of the 24th meeting of Ministers of Higher Education and Scientific Research in the GCC countries, Al Nuaimi said the meeting will discuss major priority topics on the agenda.
The Education Minister stressed that these topics reflect the GCC countries’ keenness to develop higher education and scientific research system, invest in innovation to advance the wheel of progress and development, achieve excellence for their universities at the global level, and enhance international cooperation to enrich scientific and humanitarian research and student scholarships.
She revealed that a forum will be held in Doha in October to enhance capabilities and competencies in this field, in addition to the initiative to establish the “My Gulf University” electronic platform, which allows students in Gulf countries to review the mechanism of applying to universities.
The Minister of Education and Higher Education inaugurated this platform during the meeting yesterday and announced its launch as a result of the joint efforts of the work teams.
The GCC Secretary-General expressed gratitude and appreciation to the Ministry of Education and Higher Education for developing, hosting and launching the unified digital platform for universities, “My Gulf University”, which connects over 40 universities and institutions of higher education and scientific research in the GCC countries, catering to more than two million GCC students of both genders, in implementation of the decisions taken by the Supreme Council aimed at promoting digital transformation.
