His Royal Highness Prince Faisal bin Turki bin Abdulaziz Al Saud visited Singapore from 19-21 November 2008 under the Middle East Eminent Persons Programme (MEEPP), jointly organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and the Singapore International Foundation (SIF).  Prince Faisal was invited under the MEEPP by the Special Advisor for Economic Development (Prime Minister’s Office) and Chairman (SPRING) Philip Yeo.

Prince Faisal is Advisor to the Saudi Minister of Petroleum & Mineral Resources and Deputy Chairman of Saudi Aramco’s National Industrial Cluster Development Programme.  He has served at the Ministry since 1987 and has been involved in restructuring the Saudi refining, distribution, and mining industries, as well as in developing Saudi Arabia’s gas strategy and planning.  Prince Faisal was also Head of the Saudi National Committee to the World Petroleum Congress.

During his three-day visit, Prince Faisal called on Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong and Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew.  In addition, he was briefed by EDB, JTC, A*STAR and SPRING, and toured the newly-opened Fusionopolis and visited Jurong Island.  Prince Faisal also met senior officials from Temasek Holdings.

Launched by the MFA and SIF in early 2007, the MEEPP aims to bring distinguished personalities from the Middle East to Singapore to promote mutual understanding and cooperation, through the exchange of views with senior Singaporean leaders and government officials. Prince Faisal was the tenth visitor invited under this programme.

Previous eminent visitors include the Egyptian Minister of Administrative Development, HE Dr. Ahmed Darwish; the Mayor of Jeddah, HE Adel Fakeih; UAE Minister of State for Federal National Council Affairs, HE Dr. Anwar Gargash; Secretary General of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) and Qatari Minister of State, HE Abdulrahman Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah; the Attorney-General of Qatar, HE Dr. Ali Bin Fetais Al-Marri; the then-Chairperson of the Board of Directors for the National Health Authority, and now Minister of Public Health in Qatar, HE Sheikha Dr. Ghalia Mohammed Bin Hamad Al-Thani; as well as the Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Basic Industries Cooperation, His Excellency Mr. Hussain J Al-Nowais, who visited Singapore from 17 – 20 November 2008.