Nobel laureate Omar Yaghi thanks Crown Prince for backing science

Omar Yaghi holds a press conference after winning the 2025 Nobel Prize for Chemistry, in Brussels on October 8, 2025. (FILE/AFP)

RIYADH: Saudi/Palestinian scientist Professor Omar Yaghi, winner of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, expressed deep gratitude to the Kingdom’s leadership for its unwavering support of scientific research and innovation.
In remarks published by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), Yaghi thanked Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for his continuous encouragement of his scientific journey – support that Yaghi said played a “pivotal role” in achieving this historic milestone.
Yaghi also acknowledged the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) for its long-term backing through the KACST–UC Berkeley Center of Excellence, describing it as instrumental to his success.
“Receiving this award is a great honor for me and for all Saudi and Arab scientists around the world,” Yaghi said, according to SPA. 
“I hope this achievement will inspire the next generation of Saudi and Arab youth to pursue excellence in research and innovation.”
Professor Yaghi, a pioneer in reticular chemistry – a groundbreaking field that designs crystalline frameworks with applications in energy, the environment, water desalination, and carbon capture – became the first Saudi national to win a Nobel Prize.