The British Foreign, Commonwealth, & Development Office (FCDO) stated that the 4th Morocco-UK Strategic Dialogue had shed light, once again, on “the strong and deep” bilateral relations between the two countries.
According to a statement by the British Foreign, Commonwealth, & Development Office, the dialogue, which was held under the chairmanship of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation, and Moroccan Expatriates, Nasser Bourita, and the Minister of State for the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia, the United Nations, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, focused on culture, education, politics, economics, and security, and highlighted, anew, the strength and depth of relations between Morocco and the UK.
The British Office recalled that Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and the Moroccan Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation, Abdellatif Miraoui, chaired the fifth meeting of the UK-Morocco Higher Education Commission at the Foreign, Commonwealth, & Development Office in London on May 10.
The meeting brought together representatives of the Moroccan government, the British Council, the UK Department of Business and Trade, the UK Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, Universities UK International, the Moroccan National Agency for Evaluation and Quality Assurance of Higher Education and Scientific Research (ANEAQ), and several other British and Moroccan universities.
The Office also stated that the Commission’s meeting focused on strengthening higher education collaboration between Morocco and the UK, particularly in the learning and assessment of English, recalling the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Moroccan Ministry of Higher Education and the British Council in Morocco.
The Ministry of Higher Education explained in a statement that the agreement with the British Council aims to promote the adoption of English language assessment tests in Moroccan public universities, paving the way for future partnerships with other British institutions in the field of student assessments.
The Ministry’s statement also noted that the meeting reviewed bilateral achievements, including the institutional partnership between Keele University and the Moroccan Ministry of Higher Education, the collaboration on the quality of higher education offerings, and the climate research partnerships between University College London and Ibn Tofail University in Kenitra.
Established in 2019, the Higher Education Commission holds annual meetings along with quarterly subgroups to boost partnerships in higher education, scientific research, quality assurance, and transnational education.