Press Release: EU and Qatar: Vassiliou calls for stronger partnerships in education and culture

The European Union should work more closely with Qatar and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in areas of common interest such as education and training, new skills for a changing world and strengthened cultural ties to enhance understanding between their peoples.

This is the message that Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, delivered at the 2013 World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) in Doha, Qatar, on 29 October 2013.

During her three-day visit, the Commissioner met Sheikh Abdulla bin Ali Al-Thani, chairman of WISE and President of Hamad Bin Khalifa University, and Dr Hamad Bin Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari, the Qatari Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage, to discuss shared challenges and opportunities for closer cooperation. The discussions focused on the Commission's new strategy for the internationalisation of higher education and the launch of the Erasmus+ and Creative Europe programmes, due to begin in January 2014.