News & Event

Their Excellencies the Undersecretaries of Education in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries held today (Sunday) morning a preparatory meeting for the seventh meeting of the Committee of Their Excellencies the Ministers of Education in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. The meeting took place at the Al-Bustan Palace Hotel, headed by HE Dr. Abdullah bin Khamis Ambosaidi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education for Education.

At the beginning of the meeting, HE Prof. Dr. Abdullah bin Khamis Ambosaidi, Undersecretary of the Ministry for Education, delivered a welcoming speech in which he said: “I am honored to begin the meeting with sincere thanks and appreciation to all of you, for honoring us in your second country, the Sultanate of Oman. I am also pleased that the work of the preparatory committee for the seventh meeting of the Committee of Ministers of Education in the Council countries is being held.” HE also added: “We are making advanced strides in the process of joint educational work among the countries of our Arab Gulf, and I find this a good opportunity to express my sincere thanks and deep gratitude for your generous participation.”

HE the Assistant Secretary-General for Economic and Development Affairs, Khalid bin Ali Al-Sunaidi, delivered a speech in which he said: “It pleases me at the beginning to extend to His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al-Mu’azzam - Sultan of Oman - Chairman of the current session of the Supreme Council, my highest thanks and great gratitude, and to his brothers, Their Majesties and Their Highness the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries for the great attention they devote to the process of joint Gulf action, especially in the field of education.”

HE added: “We in the Secretariat-General praise the role played by your esteemed ministries in the field of education by embracing 75% of general education students in government schools (7.2 million government / 2.3 million private). We also praise the remarkable expansion in the field of early education for our children

through creating (7,400) government kindergartens and nurseries by the end of 2022.”

HE praised the efforts made and emphasized the importance of the Gulf countries keeping pace with countries that have achieved advanced positions in this field, benefiting from their expertise and experiences, and keeping pace with new data in the world in the field of artificial intelligence, which is accelerating significantly. HE also called on the committee to adopt creative ideas that would raise the Gulf Cooperation Council countries to the ranks of developed countries, in a way that lives up to the ambitions of the leaders and peoples of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

The meeting discussed a number of topics presented for deliberation and guidance, including the directives of the Supreme Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Ministerial Council, such as digital transformation, rejecting terrorism and extremism, enhancing international cooperation, placing all Gulf institutions, organizations, and offices under the umbrella of the General Secretariat, and protecting moral, religious, and family values in Gulf societies.

The meeting also reviewed the work plan of the Committee of Ministers of Education for the years (2021-2026) and discussed cooperation in achieving the fourth goal of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (quality education). During the meeting, the proposals of the Sultanate of Oman and the Secretariat-General’s proposal regarding on-the-job training were presented, and the meeting concluded with a discussion focus on the effects of the Fourth Industrial Revolution on education.

The preparatory meeting came out with a number of recommendations, the most important of which are: Assigning a technical working team from the ministries of education in the GCC countries, whose tasks is to create a unified vision about the areas and mechanisms of international cooperation in the field of education and circulate the study of education during crises to the member states for review and benefit from it. The meeting also recommended holding periodic workshops in the member states for specialists in all sectors concerned with continuing learning during crises and benefiting from evidence and the training packages that the Arab Education Office for the Gulf States has previously completed on education on Islamic values, citizenship (intellectual fortification - community participation and family education - media culture).

It also praised the office’s efforts in transforming the outcomes of the Education Transformation Summit for the leaders of the GCC countries, held in New

York in September 2022, into foundations in educational development plans in the GCC countries as part of the office’s future plans. The meeting also adopted the vision for preparing awareness programs directed at school students related to information security and the safe use of digital platforms, especially electronic games, and assigning the Joint Program Production Foundation for the GCC countries to begin implementing it after obtaining approval from the Financial and Economic Cooperation Committee.