CNN InterviewS PM Abdullah in Davos 2008 - 25 Jan 08

DAVOS, Jan 25 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will join the ranks of other world leaders and business leaders attending the World Economic Forum here to be interviewed "live" by CNN Friday. He is scheduled to be interviewed by the TV station at 8.30pm Malaysian time. During his three-day working visit here, Abdullah also met with editors from leading media groups, including The Economist, to enable them to have a better insight on developments in Malaysia. On the final day of his visit Friday, the prime minister will hold bilateral meetings with Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer and former Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. He will also call on the President of Switzerland, Pascal Counchepin. Abdullah is also expected to hold a meeting with Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, Inc, the Internet search engine giant which has expressed interest to invest in Malaysia. The prime minister will speak at a plenary session on "The Emerging Asian Community: The Role of Asean" and attend a private meeting with the co-chairs of the 2008 World Economic Forum on East Asia, scheduled to be held in Kuala Lumpur on June 15 and 16.

Malaysia Astronaut & PM Abdullah Badawi

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi finally got his wish to speak to Malaysian angkasawan Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor Sheikh Mustapha when connection was established with the International Space Station (ISS) via video-conferencing from Astro's Studio 7 at 9pm today.

"I still want to wish you Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri and also on behalf of my wife and the people of Malaysia as I couldn't do it the other day due to a transmission problem," said Abdullah who was clearly excited to see Dr Sheikh Muszaphar floating as he spoke to the Prime Minister from the ISS.

The 15-minute video conferencing saw Abdullah posing a number of questions to Dr Sheikh Muszaphar with regards to his health, conditions on space and his experiments.