Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the joint declaration of the Fourth session of the Moroccan-UK Strategic Dialogue and second session of the Association Council of the UK-Morocco Association Agreement, signed on 9 May 2023 by the Minister of State for the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia and the United Nations and the Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Co-operation and Moroccan Expatriates, what progress he has made on capitalising on the growing enthusiasm and interest in studying in the UK and the promotion of the English language among Moroccan youth.

The UK and Morocco cooperate closely on education. This includes work to increase English language proficiency among middle school students. The number of British Accredited Schools and international schools adopting a British curriculum has grown significantly over the last two years. The UK and Morocco work closely through the Higher Education Commission. The fifth meeting took place in May, co-chaired by the Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, and Abdellatif Miraoui, Moroccan Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation, and at which a Memorandum of Understanding was signed to increase English language assessments in Moroccan public universities.