Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential for cooperation on education between the Kurdistan region of Iraq and the UK.

The UK supports the Kurdistan Region of Iraq's education sector and recently hosted the Prime Minister and Minister of Education of the Kurdistan Regional Government and discussed opportunities for collaboration in education. In discussions with the Secretary of State for the Department for Education we agreed to work closely to further expand our collaboration. Our Consulate in Erbil continues to identify opportunities for and work with UK institutions that offer both academic and vocational training programmes, including City and Guilds who now have established an office in Iraq.