RIYADH, 7 April 2008 — Prince Alwaleed ibn Talal, chairman of the Kingdom’s Holding Company, has donated £8 million (SR58.4 million) to the University of Cambridge to fund a center in his name for the study of Islam.

The donation has been recommended by the university’s general board and is expected to be announced formally in June this year.

“The donation given by Prince Alwaleed is excellent news for us and demonstrates again the prince’s generosity,” said British Ambassador William Patey.

“It is an important step forward to set up a center for Islamic studies on the campus of a world-renowned university as part of a broader initiative to promote interfaith understanding,” the ambassador added.

“Alwaleed’s gesture further underlines strong links between the UK and Saudi Arabia. Prince Charles has taken particular interest to promote understanding among different cultures and religions,” said Patey.

Prince Alwaleed has made substantial donations to establish centers of Islamic studies at Harvard University and Georgetown University. He recently gave £10 million to fund an Islamic art wing at the Louvre Museum in Paris.

The Kingdom Foundation, Prince Alwaleed’s Riyadh-based charity, has earmarked £100 million for projects aimed at improving understanding between the West and the Islamic world.

About 15 institutions in Britain, including Cambridge, offer courses in Islamic or Middle Eastern studies. Last year, the British government described Islamic studies as a “strategically-important subject.”

British universities receive more than £200 million in annual donations, with at least 50 institutions engaged in fund-raising for a range of academic initiatives.