The Saudi Ministry of Education and the EU Delegation of Erasmus+ program reviewed cooperation in Higher education and research, with the participation of European experts and representatives of major universities in the Kingdom. Funded by the EU, the Erasmus program is the first large-scale international action program to enhance the mobility of higher education students, focusing on lifelong learning to support education, training, youth, and sports in Europe.
Since its inception 35 years ago, over 13 million students have benefited from its programs. It has a budget of $27.9 billion running from 2021-2027. The opportunities offered by Erasmus+ are now available to the Gulf region, where Saudi universities can establish partnerships with their European counterparts to exchange students and staff. Speaking at the event, EU Ambassador to Saudi Arabia and Oman Christophe Farnaud said the EU is accelerating international cooperation in the academic field, offering tremendous opportunities for young Saudi students to study and live in Europe.
“Erasmus+ is designed to enhance two-way exchanges and also enable more Europeans to come to study in the Gulf, further bolstering our people-to-people contacts and our bilateral relations”, he added. In May 2022, the EU announced its strategic partnership with the Gulf, which aims to expand and deepen cooperation between the two sides. Several proposals between the EU and Saudi Arabia aim to enhance energy, green transformation, climate change, trade, economic diversification, regional stability, global security, and humanitarian and development challenges.
