There is increasing awareness in Arab States that challenges posed by economic development can no longer be ignored, and that science, technology, innovation and higher education cannot be treated as secondary factors, addressed only by the planet’s wealthier regions. Arab governments are therefore attempting to create economies based on scientific development. This revolution is led by Saudi Arabia, also within the university environment. We debate this subject with Egyptian professor Wagdy Sawahel, a policy-maker in the scientific sector and an expert on higher education, who has worked with international and national institutions. He is the founder and general coordinator of the network for the development of science, www.sciencedev.net, and of the virtual incubator for scientific business at www.visdev.net.Interview by Elisa Pierandrei