M'SIAN KING LEAVES ON SPECIAL TASK VISIT TO UK, US AND CANADA

PETALING JAYA (Selangor, Malaysia), Sept 14 (Bernama) -- Malaysian King
Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin and Queen Tuanku Nur Zahirah Tuesday left on a
"special task" visit to the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada.

The special aircraft carrying Their Majesties and their delegation departed
from the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) base in Subang near here at 10.45am.

They are scheduled to arrive in the United Kingdom Wednesday and will be
received by the Malaysian High Commissioner to London Zakaria Sulong.

The Istana Negara (National Palace) said in a statement Tuesday that the
visit of their Majesties to the United Kingdom is at the invitation of Prince
Charles, the Prince of Wales, to attend the Earth Awards Gala Dinner scheduled
for Thursday at Clarence House, the official residence of Prince Charles, in
London.

Their Majesties are scheduled to leave London for the United States on
Saturday where they will visit Cornell University to have a look at
horse-breeding technology. Tuanku Mizan is an avid endurance horse rider.

The king and queen will then go to Montreal, Canada, where Tuanku Mizan is
scheduled to visit the Lucky Harvest Therapeutic Riding Centre, the McGill
University Health Centre and the Montreal General Hospital while Tuanku Nur
Zahirah will visit the Montreal Children's Hospital.

On Sept 21, Their Majesties will travel to Toronto where they are scheduled
to visit the University of Guelph and the Ontario Veterinary College and attend
a dinner with the Malaysian community in Canada at the Villa Malaysia Restaurant
the following day.

The visit of Tuanku Mizan is an extension of the collaboration under the
Brain Gain project organised jointly by the Academy of Sciences Malaysia and the
Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.

The Sultan Mizan Royal Foundation is a recipient of the Brain Gain grant to
undertake technical and scientific collaboration with McGill University of
Montreal in the training of academic and research manpower in local public
institutions of higher learning in the area of Biosteel Silk gene research and
innovation.

The collaborative initiative to develop scientific expertise in genomics at
local institutions of higher learning is also extended to cover agriculture
science and nutrition at the University of Guelph.

The University of Guelph has been identified for collaboration in the
Biosteel Silk project as well as precision farming and food technology through
the NASA Life Support System programme.

This special task visit of Tuanku Mizan is expected to open up a new chapter
in the development of expertise and research techniques in strategic fields such
as genomics and precision farming.

Their Majesties were seen off by the Senior Deputy Secretary-General of the
Prime Minister's Department, Zainol Othman, and several other officers of the
Prime Minister's Department.
-- BERNAMA