Morocco Attaches 'Great Importance' to Promoting Cooperation with Unesco (Minister)

01 February 2022 Printable Version

Paris - Morocco, under the leadership of HM King Mohammed VI, attaches "great importance" to promoting its cooperation with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco), said Tuesday in Paris, Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation, Abdellatif Miraoui, who reiterated the full support of the Kingdom to the efforts of the UN organization to consolidate the foundations of security, peace and coexistence between peoples.

This willingness of Morocco is clearly reflected in the full commitment of the Kingdom for the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030, including the fourth goal which stipulates the need to "ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all," said the Minister, at the opening of the International Conference of States for the adoption of the Revised Convention on the Recognition of Studies, Diplomas and Degrees in Higher Education in the Arab States.

Miraoui co-chairs with his Egyptian counterpart Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Tuesday and Wednesday at Unesco headquarters in Paris, the proceedings of this conference.

Convinced of the central role of human capital as a fundamental pillar for a comprehensive and sustainable development, Morocco has raised the issue of promoting knowledge and improving the quality of its education system among the strategic choices of the New Development Model, added the Minister, stressing that in accordance with the guidelines of this New Model, the government program 2021-2026 has placed the development of human capital among its strategic priorities.

The Minister noted that this international conference also provides an opportunity to address the issue of mutual recognition of studies and degrees in the Arab world, through adapting the legal arsenal and establishing it as a lever for cooperation in this field.

Recalling that the Kingdom is a signatory to several international agreements in this area, the Minister stressed that as part of strengthening South-South cooperation, Morocco acceded in November 2019, during the 40th session of the General Conference of Unesco, to the Revised Convention on the Recognition of Studies, Certificates, Diplomas, Degrees and other Academic Qualifications in Higher Education in African States, adopted in Addis Ababa on 12 December 2014.

He pointed out that the revised convention on the recognition of studies, diplomas and degrees in Higher Education in the Arab States is part of a growing international dynamic, and constitutes a basis for promoting exchanges and mobility of university students and strengthening cooperation between higher education institutions in the signatory Arab countries.

Its adoption by the Arab States will undoubtedly help overcome the difficulties faced by graduates when returning to their countries of origin, according to the Minister.

Aware of the importance of studying abroad to enrich the academic, cultural and life experience of Moroccan students, the Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation is working to support and strengthen this desire of students by concluding academic cooperation agreements with international partners, while offering various scholarship programs that cover more than 90 international academic destinations, said Miraoui.

In this context, the Ministry also endeavors to diversify the educational offer proposed to Moroccan students in terms of specializations, training and academic fields, he underlined.