Sweden is to establish a scholarship program for Saudi graduates and cooperate with the Kingdom in building a new engineering department in Riyadh as part of a renewed effort to strengthen bilateral relations.
A delegation from the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, currently visiting Riyadh, has also discussed a proposal with Higher Education Minister Dr. Khaled Al-Angari to enroll Saudi students at Swedish universities for higher studies and research.
News of the scholarship program, the new engineering department and a proposal to enroll Saudi students at Swedish universities was disclosed during a reception hosted by Prince Bandar ibn Saud, chairman of the executive committee of the Alfaisal University’s board of trustees, in honor of the visiting Swedish delegation.
Prince Bandar briefed the delegation about the Alfaisal University project, which will initially admit about 4,000 students and is the Kingdom’s first private university. The Swedish delegation is led by professor Lena Treschow Torell, president of the Swedish Academy.
“Alfaisal University is a non-for-profit modern venture supported by the King Faisal Foundation (KFF) and an international board of trustees,” said Prince Bandar, adding that the KFF, on its part, has been playing a pioneer role by funding different projects and giving grants to various charities worldwide including a major Arabization project in a European country. He welcomed the members of the Swedish Academy, the oldest academy in the world, which was founded in 1919.
