Education: the missing pillar in the US–Saudi partnership

The next generation of Saudis and Americans should meet not only in air bases, boardrooms, stadiums, and embassies—but in classrooms and dormitories in both the United States and Saudi Arabia.

Saeed Al Ahmeri / AFP

A photo dated 23 November 2005 showing Saudi students at King Saud University in Riyadh.

Education: the missing pillar in the US–Saudi partnership

Daniel Benaim

last update on 16 Nov 2025

During my years in the US government, working on Saudi relations, I was struck by the way many of my meetings with Saudis began.

Before diving into the details of regional security or technological competition, the Saudi across the table from me would begin by reminiscing, with a smile, about their time at US universities—mascots, college towns, even football rivalries. Some hadnʼt been back in decades, but the connection endured.

That bond—linking some 700,000 Saudis educated in America to communities and the country that hosted them —has been the quiet glue of our partnership. As Washington and Riyadh upgrade ties—from AI to defence to even standup comedy—this is also a moment for renewed ambition in higher education.

Our education partnership need not look like it once did. Saudi Arabia is rightly focused on developing world-class domestic institutions and capabilities. Yet as Vision 2030 unleashes young talent, both sides stand to gain by pairing ambitious investments in human capital with those in microchips and megadeals.

Higher education has long been one of the most important bridges between our two countries. The first Saudi cultural mission opened in the United States in 1951. One of the first Saudi scholarship recipients in America became the country's first Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.

In 2005, Saudi Arabia launched the King Abdullah Scholarship Programme, which, at its height, sent nearly 100,000 Saudis to study across America—training future leaders and building friendships that taught both societies to see each other not through caricatures but as partners and peers. It has helped the relationship withstand many tests and led Saudis and Americans to continually look to each other—from business to diplomacy, to security, and culture—in ways that benefit both sides.

For the United States, this built soft power that no diplomatic dialogue could match. For Saudi Arabia, it helped seed the technocratic expertise and results-oriented leadership now driving Vision 2030.

Getty Images — Saudi women stand next to the Saudi pavilion (Vision 2030) at the Gitex 2018 exhibition at the Dubai World Trade Centre in Dubai on 16 October 2018

Narrowed bridge

That bridge has narrowed. The scholarship wave crested as oil prices fell and Saudi leaders tightened funding, reforming the programme to focus on top-tier US universities. COVID-19 also slowed travel, and visa backlogs—plus concerns over campus culture and uneven integration into student life—led many Saudis to look elsewhere. Saudi enrollment in US universities has plummeted from roughly 100,000 to 15,000—and is still declining rapidly, with new entrants down 20% this year amid tougher US immigration enforcement.

To be clear, it's up to Saudi Arabia to decide where it wants to send its youth for their education. It aims to build a world-class university system at home, and institutions like KAUST are proving that it can. Many Saudis will now proudly study in-house, and more Americans should join them.

The future of educational cooperation will inevitably look different—as it should. The old one-way model should give way to two-way exchanges that strengthen higher education in both countries.

Vision 2030 depends on developing world-class talent across key sectors—from AI and clean energy to hospitality and health. American universities remain unparalleled in these and other critical fields, and exposure to their model of research, critical thinking, problem-solving, and entrepreneurship has already proven to be a powerful accelerant of Saudi development.

The United States, meanwhile, faces a shrinking college student population. Combined with declining international enrollment from China and elsewhere, these changes will strain universities and local economies. A revitalised education partnership could help strengthen US higher education while advancing Saudi transformation.

From now on, ambition must flow both ways: more Saudis studying in America and vice versa

Signs of renewal

Signs of this renewal are emerging. Babson College has partnered with Saudi institutions to help launch the Mohammed bin Salman College of Business Entrepreneurship, which is training hundreds of Saudis. The University of New Haven announced its goal to become the first US university to establish a branch campus in Saudi Arabia, aiming to eventually enrol as many as 13,000 students. Some American universities are preparing to join the University of New Haven in establishing branch campuses, while others, such as Arizona State, have signed MOUs and are preparing joint endeavours with existing Saudi universities. Smaller targeted collaborations aligned with 2030 goals—like the Colorado School of Minesʼ work with Aramco—are also gaining traction.

Meanwhile, last yearʼs US-Saudi Higher Education Summit produced new agreements for joint research and faculty exchange, pointing a path to greater cooperation. These are promising beginnings. The next step is to make education a centrepiece once again of an upgraded US-Saudi relationship.

How would it work?

Leaders in both governments could start by setting a shared goal: double student and faculty exchanges within five years under an elevated US-Saudi Education Forum.

From now on, ambition must flow both ways: more Saudis studying in America and significantly more Americans studying in Saudi Arabia. The recent launch of Fulbright scholarships in Saudi Arabia was a promising step in that direction.

Omar Salem / AFP — Students walk on the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) campus on 13 October 2009, in Thuwal, north of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Second, a joint public-private working group—chaired at a senior level, including US consular officials—should coordinate to signal political will, forge new partnerships, address issues as they arise, and help ensure a safe and predictable experience for travellers in both directions.

Third, instead of seeking new Saudi funds for another wave of scholarships, the initial focus can be on helping United States universities compete and earn back a greater share of existing international scholarships. This would include creating targeted partnerships aligned with Vision 2030 priorities—from tourism and public administration to healthcare and technology.

Fourth, American universities should be encouraged to partner with Saudi institutions through formal partnerships, joint degrees, executive programs, and even branch campuses that localise expertise and broaden opportunity. Another possibility would be to establish an American University inside Saudi Arabia, similar to the storied institutions in Cairo and Beirut.

Shutterstock — Students on the American University of Beirut campus

Launching a new university is, by all accounts, an incredibly complex undertaking, from regulation to administration to marketing—somewhere between starting a company and founding a new village. But persistent and bold experimentation can lead US and Saudi institutions to create new templates that succeed in practice, making it easier for all those who follow.

Finally, leaders on both sides should push education higher up the bilateral agenda. Few investments have yielded such returns or are more vital to shaping the next generation of ties.

I am not naive to the challenges of this moment, including the difficulties that have led many in this region, especially young people, to hesitate to travel to the United States. However, even with these challenges, there is an opportunity for leaders to seize—to think long-term and plan for the future.

Today, both countries are upgrading their partnership for a new era—driven by young Saudi men and women who are already remaking their country in remarkable ways.

The next generation of Saudis and Americans should meet not only in air bases, boardrooms, stadiums, and embassies—but in classrooms and dormitories in both the United States and Saudi Arabia. That is where much of our partnership was born—and where it can be reimagined for future generations.

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