Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom, Dominic Raab on Wednesday hailed India's National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 as visionary and expressed the resolve of strengthening India-UK collaboration on deepening engagement in the field of education and research.
According to an official release, Raab, during a bilateral meeting with Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal "Nishank", said that the proposed reforms of NEP 2020 will open up opportunities for students, economy and for deeper engagement and collaboration between the two countries.
Recalling Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to the UK in 2018 where he stated that education is a living bridge between India and UK, Raab said that this policy will help make the bridge even stronger, while adding that the UK has a lot of respect for India's academic vigour, and the contribution of the Indian student community is highly valued by his country.
He also said that the UK has made several changes in its visa and immigration rules to facilitate student mobility in the country.
The UK Foreign Secretary and Pokhriyal agreed to work to deepen their engagement in the field of education and research, and work collaboratively on mutual recognition of academic qualifications over the next year.Minister of State for Education Sanjay Dhotre, and Secretary of Higher Education Amit Khare, among senior officials of the Ministry, were also present in the meeting.
India and UK have agreed to set up a joint Task Force consisting of designated higher education orgzations from both countries to work towards mutual recognition of academic qualifications.
Speaking on the occasion, Pokriyal said that the implementation of a joint task force will expedite the process for achieving mutual recognition of academic qualification, and will support India's agenda for internationalisation of higher education.
He also said that the agreement to work towards mutual recognition of academic qualifications aligns with the vision of PM Modi for creating a globally mobile workforce and internationalisation of Indian higher education, as proposed in the NEP 2020.
Speaking on India's educational ties with the UK, the Education Minister said that the relations between the two countries have been very positive and cooperative, while adding that today's agreement signified continued mutual trust between the two nations to elevate ties through education, research and innovation.
According to a release, both sides expressed hope and confidence that they would further enhance mutual engagement in the field of education, research and innovation, leading to deeper and stronger bilateral relations.
Raab had called on PM Modi earlier today, where he signalled his ambition for a closer UK-India relationship as part of a wider UK focus on partnerships in the Indo-Pacific region.
On Tuesday, he also met with Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar where the two discussed opportunities in a post-Covid post-Brexit world for a stronger India-UK partnership.
( With inputs from ANI )
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