Singapore Government Press Release

Media Relations Division, Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts

MICA Building, 140 Hill Street, 2nd Storey, Singapore 179369

Tel: 6837-9666

PRESS RELEASE

LEE KUAN YEW EXCHANGE FELLOWSHIP

VISIT OF HE DR BASSEM AWADALLAH,

VICE-CHAIRMAN OF THE KING ABDULLAH II

FUND FOR DEVELOPMENT,

HASHEMITE KINGDOM OF JORDAN

22 JULY – 29 JULY 2005

HE Dr Bassem Awadallah, Vice-Chairman of the King Abdullah II Fund for Development will visit Singapore as the 24th Lee Kuan Yew Exchange Fellow from 22 to 29 July 2005. Dr Awadallah is the first Lee Kuan Yew Exchange Fellow from the Middle East.

During his stay, Dr Awadallah will call on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong; Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong; Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew; Minister for Home Affairs Wong Kan Seng; Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo; Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang and Minister, Prime Minister’s Office & Second Minister for Finance & for Foreign Affairs Raymond Lim.

Dr Awadallah will also visit the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and the Singapore Management University. On 26 July 2005, Dr Awadallah will speak on "The New Asia-Middle East Engagement - Taking It to the Next Level" at a public lecture organised jointly by the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies and the Lee Kuan Yew Exchange Fellowship (LKYEF).

Dr Andrew Chew, Chairman of the LKYEF, will host an Award Dinner for Dr Bassem Awadallah.

Established in 1991, the LKYEF programme invites outstanding individuals for high-level exchange visits to Singapore. The Fellows are selected on the basis of their proven track record and contributions to the development of their nation, as well as in promoting international understanding and goodwill. Distinguished fellows who have visited Singapore under the LKYEF programme include Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra of Thailand; Dr Richard Haass, President of the Council on Foreign Relations, Washington D.C.; Dr Sri Mulyani, State Minister for National Development Planning of Indonesia; and Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung of Vietnam.

21 JULY 2005