The Diplomat
Last Tuesday, the Council of Ministers authorized the manifestation of Spain’s consent to be bound by the Cooperation Agreement in the field of education between the Governments of Spain and Qatar, as well as its subsequent referral to the Spanish Parliament.
The Cooperation Agreement was reached at the end of long negotiations between Spain and Qatar with the aim of covering the lack of agreements on education between the two countries. The signing of the agreement finally took place in Madrid last May 18, during the official visit to Spain of the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani.
During that visit, the first since the emir’s accession to the Throne in 2013 – when he acceded to the throne after the abdication of his father, Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani – Spain and Qatar raised the bilateral relationship to a strategic level and signed a dozen agreements and Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) in the economic, investment, educational, judicial, health and scientific fields, among others.
The purpose of this agreement is to promote and enhance cooperation in education between the two countries and to achieve achievements and objectives of common interest. In addition, the agreement establishes the commitment of the parties to promote various forms of exchange in the field of education.
Specifically, the text provides for visits by specialists in all fields, delegations of students and school sports teams, and the organization of art exhibitions. It also proposes the exchange of experiences and information, of the latest technologies produced in both countries, of curricula, educational material and publications, and of information on degrees and diplomas awarded by the educational institutions of both countries. The parties also undertake to promote the learning of each other’s languages.
The agreement will be valid for six years and will be automatically renewed for periods of equal duration, unless one of the parties notifies the other, in writing and through diplomatic channels, of its desire to terminate the agreement at least six months prior to the date foreseen for its termination or expiration.
