Talks held in Ankara to expand education and scientific cooperation between Türkiye and Saudi Arabia focused on joint research, student and academic exchanges, and vocational education.
Erol Özvar, president of Türkiye’s Council of Higher Education, received Saudi Education Minister Yusuf Al-Bunyan. The visit was the first of its kind in 14 years in the field of education between the two countries.
Joint research to receive priority
The talks addressed matching leading universities in Türkiye and Saudi Arabia for joint scientific research. Engineering, health sciences, and artificial intelligence were identified as potential priority areas for joint research.
The sides also discussed increasing student and academic exchanges, sharing experience in vocational and technical education, and making it easier to learn Turkish and Arabic reciprocally. The establishment of new partnerships in postgraduate education and increased exchanges for faculty members and students were also discussed.
Özvar explained Türkiye’s vocational higher education model developed in its industrial zones. Özvar said vocational higher education institutions that offer programs directly linked to the industrial sector had achieved significant success in training qualified human resources, and expressed Türkiye’s readiness to share its experience in work-based education, applied instruction, and university-industry cooperation with Saudi Arabia.
Özvar said the academic knowledge, research capacity, and institutional experience of the two countries could provide significant benefits for students, scientists, and society. Calling for direct and lasting partnerships between universities, Özvar proposed holding a forum bringing together the rectors, administrators, and academic representatives of the two countries.
Universities forum could be held in April 2027
Al-Bunyan supported the forum proposal. He said the forum could be held in Saudi Arabia in April 2027 as part of the Human Capability Initiative event.
The sides exchanged views on taking concrete steps soon in the agreed areas of cooperation and continuing the talks held in Ankara with a new meeting in Saudi Arabia.
Proposal to relaunch scholarship program
Özvar emphasized the importance of relaunching the scholarship program provided by the Saudi Arabian government for students wishing to study in Türkiye. He said the Council of Higher Education was ready to work with Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Education to enable more Saudi students to study at Turkish universities.
Saudi Education Minister Al-Bunyan said he appreciated Türkiye’s extensive experience in vocational education and that his country was open to expanding cooperation in this field. He said Turkish educational institutions could operate in Saudi Arabia not only through knowledge and student exchanges, but also by implementing their education systems, curricula, and administrative models.
Al-Bunyan said joint research projects should be conducted between universities in the two countries and the scope of faculty and student exchange programs should be expanded.
The Saudi side will also brief Turkish authorities on scholarship and education programs for international students. The sides said they were ready to cooperate in informing Saudi students about similar educational opportunities in Türkiye.
