Rabat – Morocco joined the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) under the status of “Associate Member” on Thursday, June 17.
Morocco unanimously obtained the esteemed status during the virtual 51st SEAMEO council conference with the participation of career diplomat Abdelilah el Housni, Morocco’s ambassador to Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar.
The historical meeting makes Morocco both the first Arab and African country to be granted the privilege of acquiring such status within the organization alongside Canada, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, France, Netherlands, Germany, and Spain.
Such recognition sought to reaffirm the country’s position as a privileged partner in the region, and to bolster the relations between Morocco and Southeast Asian countries, bar none. The House of Representatives has already joined the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) as an observer member in September 2020.
Morocco is a unique country that enjoys a strategic position at the crossroads of Africa, Europe, and the Arab world, as it has become a regional hub in terms of higher education, scientific research, and innovation. Morocco has indeed recorded remarkable progress in enhancing the educational system, reshaping professional training, and making significant efforts in strengthening high-standard early education.
SEAMEO is an intergovernmental organization founded in 1965. It is a forum for education leaders to discuss priority education and related issues. It counts, as of now, 11 official member countries (Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, the Philippines, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Myanmar, Timor-Leste, Indonesia, and Vietnam.)
As such, the affiliation of Morocco with the organization symbolizes the importance the north African country places in further developing the education sector. Moroccan universities are indeed on the right track to consolidate their regional and continental leadership.
Furthermore, this coalition effectively opens up new horizons for potential future collaborations with ASEAN member states regarding scholarship grants and exchange programs. These connections aim to help cement the existing educational programs, notably the training course of Imams, Mourchidines, and Mourchidates from Thailand at Mohammed VI institute.
Morocco is on to new beginnings in terms of brokering new interstate partnerships, a fortiori, occupying the center stage in expanding high-quality pathways for higher education and scientific research in the MENA region.
