London, 21 January: A hectic programme, including exclusive interviews with two British media giants, awaits Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who arrived here Sunday [21 January] for a three-day visit.
The Malaysia Airlines flight landed at Heathrow Airport at 6.15am [local time] and the prime minister was greeted byMalaysian High Commissioner to Britain Datuk Abdul Aziz bin Mohammed and his wife Datin Munah Razak.
Other High Commission officials were on hand to welcome Abdullah later at The Dorchester, the hotel owned by the sultan of Brunei, where he will be staying during the visit.
On Tuesday, his day will begin with a morning interview with BBC World, the world service of British Broadcasting Corporation.
He will visit the famed London School of Economics (LSE), where he will witness the presentation of a £50,000 (350,000 ringgit) cheque from the Malaysian Alumni and four donors of the LSE.
Among the donors is Datuk Tony Fernandes, the chief executive officer of budget airline Air Asia.
President of the LSE Alumni Society of Malaysia Datuk Dr Munir Majid said the donation would be used to set up a teaching room named after Malaysia at the university.
Munir said about half of the over 200 Malaysian students of LSE would also attend the ceremony.
In the afternoon, Abdullah is expected to visit the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) .
Here, he will deliver a keynote address entitled "The West and the Muslim World: Defusing the Defining Tensions of our Times".
Dr Munir told Bernama the theme of the prime minister's speech is on the clash of interests and not of civilizations.
This over, the prime minister will sit down for another interview with the Financial Times newspaper.
He will leave in late afternoon for Zurich to attend the annual gathering of prominent personalities at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
