MALAYSIAN PM AND DELEGATION VISIT SAUDI VARSITY

FROM MUIN ABDUL MAJID

JEDDAH, Jan 15 (Bernama) -- Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak on
Thursday visited King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)
which aspires to become a globally-renowned graduate research university by the
year 2020.

The visit, which lasted nearly two hours, took place in conjunction with
the Malaysian prime minister's four-day official visit to Saudi Arabia.

Najib arrived in this port city Wednesday night.

KAUST president Professor Choon Fong Shih briefed Najib and his entourage,
including his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, on developments surrounding the
institution of higher learning which was inaugurated in September 2009.

Six Malaysians are among those studying at the university located over
100km from Jeddah.

Malaysia's King Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin was among
world leaders who had attended the inauguration of the university by Saudi
Arabian King Abdullah Abdulaziz Al-Saud.

King Abdullah had then declared that the institution would not just be a
new
"House of Wisdom" but also a "beacon of tolerance" in a world attacked by
extremists.

KAUST has established multidisciplinary research centres focusing on
catalysis, clean combustion, computational bioscience, geometric modelling and
visualisation, membranes, plant stress genomics and technology, Red Sea science
and engineering, solar and alternative energy, and water desalination and reuse.

Najib and his delegation toured the sprawling facility that could
eventually accommodate some 20,000 students and staff.

Among KAUST's missions are to help diversify the Saudi economy through
innovation and entreprise and serve as a catalyst for improving lives as well
as bridging people and cultures.

KAUST's 2030 vision is to become a science and innovation hub on the
shores of the Red Sea.

-- BERNAMA