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HRH Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Alsaud, Chairman of Kingdom Holding Company received at his office in Riyadh, The Rt Hon. Tony Blair Former British Prime Minister and official Envoy to the Quartet on the Middle East.

Mr. Blair was accompanied by a delegation that included Ms. Catherine Rimmer, Mr. Blair’s Strategic Director and Jonathan Powell, Advisor. The meeting was also attended by Ms. Heba Fatani, Executive Manager, Corporate Communications Department, Ms. Nahla Alanbar Personal Assistant to HRH the Chairman and Ms. Aysha Alkusayer, Assistant Executive Manager Strategic Studies Department, Alwaleed bin Talal Foundation (ABTF).

The meeting began as HRH cordially received Mr. Blair the ME Envoy thanked Prince Alwaleed for his reception. During the meeting the two discussed a number of bilateral issues, shedding light on decades of Saudi-British relations.

Also on the agenda of discussions was Mr. Blair’s role as official Envoy to the Quartet on the Middle East. The two also discussed a number of general local, regional issues and the current global economic climate.

Moreover, the former PM discussed the activities of the The Tony Blair Faith Foundation aimed at encouraging inter-faith dialogue.

The Prince stressed the importance of this initiative referring to the various donations made by HRH to university centers to promote cultural dialogue and build a bridge between East-West for tolerance and understanding.

In May 2008, HRH made a £16 million endowment to create two new research centres for Islamic studies at the University of Cambridge and the University of Edinburgh (£8 million for each university).

The new centers will carry out both research and public engagement designed to enhance understanding between the Muslim world and the West. In 2002, the Prince made a £1 million endowment to the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter.

His Highness had received the Prince of Wales at Kingdom Resort in Riyadh in 2006 and the Duke of York in 2007.

Prince Alwaleed has a number of investments in the United Kingdom through Kingdom Holding Company including the Savoy hotel and Canary Warf.

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