RIYADH — Education Minister Dr. Hamad Bin Mohammed Al-Sheikh Monday met with UK Prime Minister's Special Representative for Education Professor Sir Steve Smith to discuss ways of enhancing educational, academic and research cooperation and sharing the best practices and expertise between the two friendly countries.

Both sides addressed achieved successes of the educational partnership between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom, a result of the historic visit of Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, deputy prime minister and minister of defense, to Britain in 2018, where the two countries signed a joint communiqué that saw the launch of the Strategic Partnership Council between Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom.

The meeting addressed the big efforts exerted by Saudi Arabia and the UK on education, fields of cooperation in public education, developing curricula, the program of the courses system for the secondary education, in addition to the education of talented students and students with disabilities.

The talks also covered cooperation in the university education, scientific research, accrediting academic qualifications, as well as academic and research partnerships among both countries’ universities, and enhancing cooperation in integrated education and remote education.

The minister briefed the special representative and the accompanying delegation on the top dossiers that will be discussed during the Education World Forum, which is scheduled to be held early in 2020, mainly joint challenges in the educational field. Several officials from both countries attended the meeting. — SPA