UK Foreign Office Minister, Alistair Burt, has highlighted British educational initiatives in Qatar at the Global Business Summit on Education.

Speaking after the event, Burt said: 'The UK's education sector is a world leader. Today's event shows how committed the UK is to improving collaboration on higher education and research and development across the world.'

The minister highlighted the impending opening of University College London's campus at Qatar Foundation.

'This September, UCL will open its doors to welcome the first intake of students at its Doha campus and RADA has provided theatre and drama workshops in Doha with great success.'

'Through the Gulf Initiative, we are expanding educational links with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and others in the region,” he said, adding 'I am proud that every year tens of thousands of students from the Middle East and North Africa come to the UK to study. They do so because of our reputation for excellence and because the UK has some of the best, most enduring educational institutions in the world.'

'I hope that today's event will lead to further partnerships as we extend the International Education Advisory Forum and the business department’s international education programme, which has supported the development of 26 higher education partnerships across the Gulf since 2006,' noted Burt.

'I am also proud that education is a key part of the UK response to the Arab Spring,' he said, adding “as countries across the region grapple with the challenges ahead, promoting education should be a crucial part of their response and one where the UK is perfectly placed to support them.”