Morocco, Britain discuss ways of boosting partnerships in education

RABAT - The Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation, Abdellatif Miraoui, held talks, on Tuesday in Rabat, with Lord Ahmad, British Minister of State for Foreign Affairs for South and Central Asia, North Africa, the UN and the Commonwealth, currently visiting Morocco.

This visit is part of Morocco-UK relations, the Moroccan minister told the press, adding that relations in terms of higher education and scientific research are of capital importance, especially for researchers and PhD students, as well as for their mobility.

"We are seeking higher attractivity for our students in the United Kingdom," Miraoui said.

"We have therefore included the English language in their careers especially during the Bachelor and Master cycles," he added.

"This aims to create new-generation doctors," he further noted, explaining that "this mobility was previously regulated by the Erasmus+ program, but now requires a new framework as the UK has left the European Union."

In this respect, the Moroccan minister indicated that more intensive talks are scheduled to take place to achieve these goals, especially that of new-generation doctors, "which must now be fluent in English and open to English-speaking countries."

For his part, the British Minister of State stressed that his visit to Morocco mainly aims to strengthen bilateral ties between the two countries, underlying, in this regard, the importance of education a "basis" and "founding principle to anyone's life."

He highlighted the need for countries to "really recognize the fundamental importance and the leverage of an education population," revealing that his discussions with the Moroccan minister focused on strengthening bilateral ties between institutions of both countries and growing further.

The British official also voiced his wish to see more investment in Morocco in terms of empowering Moroccan youth through the English language, in a Britain that is "currently building new relationships after our departure from the European Union."