Muscat – The meeting discussed a number of educational issues included in the committee’s agenda, the most important of which are: Directives of the GCC Supreme Council and the Ministerial Council, and the Riyadh Declaration for the forty-second session.

Her Excellency Dr. Madiha bint Ahmed Al Shaibaniyah, Minister of Education and President of the current session, confirmed in the speech of the Sultanate of Oman that the educational work system in the GCC countries is moving at a steady pace and with leaders to build common visions that anticipate the future of education that meets what the people of countries aspire to.

Her Excellency stated that the educational indicators issued by international organizations showed that the GCC countries continue to achieve good results in various international studies and increased the percentage of students who obtained the high and advanced level in this study.

Her Excellency stated that the educational topics included in the meeting’s agenda were consistent with global developments that imposed unprecedented transformations on the educational systems, including the topic of artificial intelligence. She stressed that the tremendous development in the field of information technology and the information revolution has contributed to human advancement and the achievement of economic development and social and economic well-being, which requires educational systems to protect moral and religious values and preserve the social fabric of the societies.

Her Excellency indicated that the meeting coincides with UNESCO’s issuance of the guiding principles document for information and communications technology in education policies and master plans, which will be a road map to guide the development of information and communications technology in education plans. It will also coincide with the organization’s celebration of Technical Education Week, which falls this week.

Her Excellency the Minister of Education stated that the topic of instilling the principles of financial culture among students will be present in this meeting due to its importance in deepening the concepts of financial planning and optimal investment of resources for financial sustainability, which is consistent with what was included in the Al-Ula Declaration of the forty-first session of the Supreme Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries with emphasis on achieving full economic citizenship.