Saudi Education Minister Promotes Scholarships for Indonesian Students in Jakarta Meeting

JAKARTA — Saudi Minister of Education Yousef Al-Benyan affirmed the Kingdom’s commitment to enabling Indonesian students to benefit from opportunities to study at Saudi universities and to learn more about these opportunities through the Study in Saudi platform.

During the meeting in Jakarta on Wednesday, Al-Benyan and Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Cultural Affairs Pratikno discussed student and lecturer exchanges, joint degrees and research, and scholarships to bolster bilateral education cooperation. Indonesian cabinet ministers, and university rectors attended the meeting held at the residence of Saudi Ambassador to Indonesia Faisal Abdullah Al-Amoudi in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Al-Benyan held an extensive meeting with rectors of several Indonesian universities, during which they discussed ways to expand opportunities for knowledge and student exchange between higher education institutions in both countries.

Speaking on the occasion, Al-Benyan said Saudi Arabia has more than 1,000 government scholarships available for Indonesians, but only about 50 percent have been utilized so far. "I remind you that we have more than 1,000 scholarships from our government for the Indonesian government. And so far, maybe only 50 percent have been utilized," he said.

Al-Benyan said that the remaining scholarships could be accessed through Saudi Arabia's official platforms, without specifying a deadline for application. He also highlighted that Saudi Arabia boasts around 15 universities ranked among the world's 100 top institutions, including three to five universities ranked among the world's top 10.

"We discussed several things that we can do immediately, especially for higher education institutions, such as student exchanges, lecturer exchanges, joint supervision, joint degrees, and joint research," Indonesian minister Pratikno said. “The discussions also covered teacher education, capacity building, and expanded scholarship programs. So in a short time, the scholarships will also be opened directly," he said.

The meeting comes as Indonesia and Saudi Arabia seek to expand cooperation in human resource development, prioritizing higher education, teacher training, and academic exchanges.

The Saudi minister’s visit to the most populous Muslim country aimed to strengthen bilateral cooperation in education, scientific research, and human development. The visit included a series of official meetings between Al-Benyan and several senior Indonesian officials to discuss opportunities for cooperation and the development of partnerships in innovation, scientific research, and AI.