MIT To Reassess Partnerships With Saudi Arabia After Journalist's Disappearance

President L. Rafael Reif addresses the March 24 "Innovation to Impact" forum, which was hosted by MIT and focused on Saudi Arabia's economy.

Bianca Vázquez Toness is the Managing Editor and Correspondent for K-12 Education at WGBH Radio. She has covered everything from technology to immigration to presidential elections, but keeps coming back to stories about kids and schools. She's worked for Minnesota Public Radio, WBUR and Bloomberg News. She was a 2016-2017 Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT.

October 18, 2018

Updated July 31, 2023

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is reassessing its partnerships with the Saudi government after allegations surfaced that Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman ordered the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

In a letter sent Monday, Richard Lester, MIT's associate provost for international activities, told professors he's reassessing the institute's "engagement" with entities in the Saudi kingdom. He promised to quickly determine a course of action.

The move comes as business and government leaders around the world distance themselves from the Saudi government. The chairman of Boston-based Bain Capital, Steven Pagliuca, dropped out of a high-profile Saudi investment conference planned for next week. The CEO of Waltham-based Raytheon is still planning to attend the conference, according to a company spokeswoman, but the company is monitoring the situation.

For MIT, after decades of collaborating on research and education with Saudi entities, disentangling the institute from the kingdom might prove more complicated.

"As we consider how to respond to current events," Lester wrote in his letter, "individual faculty members who have or are considering engagements with Saudi Arabia will make their own determinations as to the best path forward."

Lester also wrote that the university has "enjoyed highly productive" collaborations with partners in Saudi Arabia for decades.

Bin Salman watched in March as MIT and Saudi officials signed agreements to work together on everything from new energy technology, climate change solutions and robotics. Aramco, the Saudi state-owned energy giant, pledged $25 million over five years to fund the research. The agreement was signed during an MIT-hosted forum that convened faculty and business leaders to discuss new technologies and programs to help Saudi Arabia diversify its economy and create jobs.

Khashoggi, an outspoken critic of the Saudi government and columnist for the Washington Post, was reported missing in Istanbul on Oct. 2 after visiting the Saudi consulate. The Saudi government has denied involvement in his alleged murder, but Turkish investigators say the journalist was killed in the consulate by a hit team from Saudi Arabia.

Khashoggi's disappearance has heightened Turkish-Saudi tensions and criticism of President Trump. Trump has said consequences for the Saudis "will have to be very severe" if they are found to have killed him, but he has also stressed the importance of the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia.

This article has been updated. The Associated Press contributed to this article.