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KRG ministers sign British Council
agreement, visit Wales
19.1.2007 |
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January 19, 2007
London, UK, -- The Kurdistan Regional
Government (KRG) ministers for Education and for
Higher Education and Scientific Research on Tuesday
visited the National Assembly for Wales and agreed
with Welsh representatives and academics to
strengthen educational and political ties between
their two regions.
The delegation, accompanied by Khani Hejar, First
Secretary of the KRG UK Representative Office, was
welcomed by Jane Davidson, the Welsh Assembly
Government's Education and Lifelong Learning
Minister. They presented her with a letter from
Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani to the First
Minister of Wales, thanking the Welsh people for
their friendship and hoping to learn from
Wales’experience.
The invitation to Wales was part of the two
ministers’ 10-day visit to the UK, which included an
international ministerial seminar and education
exhibition, and meetings with academic experts and
the Kurdish community.
The ministers also signed an agreement with the
British Council for co-operation in primary,
secondary and higher education, in light of the
historic links between the Kurdistan Region and the
UK. Dilshad Abdulrahman Mohammed, Minister for
Education, and Dr Idriss Hadi Salih, Minister for
Higher Education and Scientific Research, signed two
memoranda of understanding with Sir David Green,
Director-General of the British Council.
During a ministerial banquet, Higher Education
Minister Dr Idriss said, “We welcome partnerships
with British academics and universities. Education
was neglected for decades by the former Iraqi regime
and we were isolated from the rest of the world.
This has created a gap between us and the
international community in all fields of life,
especially in higher education.”
Education Minister Dilshad Abdulrahman gave a
breakdown of school statistics and current shortages
faced by the education sector. He said, “The biggest
challenge we face is reforming our outdated
education system. Our main goals are reform of the
school curriculum and the exam system and promoting
continuous professional development for all
teachers.”
The ministers also took part in a world ministerial
seminar on the use of technology in education
organized by the British government last week. 38
ministers and 68 countries participated. They met
several British ministers, including Margaret
Beckett, Foreign Secretary, and Alan Johnson,
Education Secretary.
They also met Hilary Benn, the International
Development Secretary, and asked him to provide
funding and support for Kurdistan’s education
system. One of the speakers at the seminar was Bob
Geldof, the humanitarian campaigner. The KRG
delegation invited him and other dignitaries to
visit the Region.
Mr Dilshad Abdulrahman in Oxford met MacMillan, the
educational book publisher, which is currently
helping to overhaul English-language teaching in
Kurdistan and provides continuous support from its
newly opened office in Erbil and from the UK.
Dr Idriss Hadi visited Cardiff University and met
Vice-Chancellor Professor John King and heads of
academic departments.
They discussed capacity building of administrative
staff and training for academics from the Kurdistan
Region at Cardiff University.
Over the next few days the ministers will go to
Nottingham to meet university academics, education
specialists and the Kurdish community.
Read an in-depth report on the ministers’ visit - MS
DOC file
krg org
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