RIYADH: Saudi Arabia's Education Minister Dr Hamad Al-Sheikh held talks on Monday with his Kuwaiti counterpart Dr Ali Al-Mudhaf, aiming to give impetus to common plans and goals concerning classroom development. The Kuwaiti minister also had a similar meeting with the chief of a pan-Gulf Arab education body known as the Arab Bureau of Education for the Gulf States (ABEGS) Dr Abdulrahman Al-Assimi, as they sought to keep the crucial sector afloat after disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The encounters, both of which occurred on the sidelines of a global education conference in the Saudi capital, precede forthcoming talks involving education officials from the two Gulf Arab neighbors, the Kuwaiti minister said. On the talks, ABEGS chief Al-Assimi said he examined along with the Kuwaiti and Saudi ministers, how his organization can contribute towards educational development in the two countries.

Kuwait’s Education Minister Dr Ali Al-Mudhaf meets Saudi Arabia's Education Minister Dr Hamad Al-Sheikh.

Having been dealt a blow by the COVID-19 pandemic, the education sector is in dire need of reforms to bring development goals to fruition, according to Dr Saleh Al-Qusomi, the Saudi education ministry's undersecretary. More than 200 global education bodies have come together for the talks in Riyadh, which will shed light on some of the perennial challenges encumbering educational development. - KUNA