KUALA LUMPUR, Sept. 13 -- Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad left Friday for the Zimbabwean capital of Harare, the first stop of a 17-day overseas trip that also will take him to Portugal and the United States. Mahahtir will be in the southern African country until Sept. 17 to attend the World Solar Summit, where he is expected to deliver a keynote address.
The conference begins Saturday. He is also scheduled to address the inaugural meeting of the World Solar Commission. The two-day meeting will open Monday with a speech by Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe. From Zimbabwe, Mahathir will leave for Lisbon to begin a three-day visit to Portugal starting Sept. 20. Mahathir is expected to visit Portuguese President Mario Soares and hold talks with his counterpart, Antonio Guiterres. With Malaysia vying to gain a place on the World Formula 1 racing map through the proposed establishment of its own racing circuit in the Malaysian administrative capital of Putrajaya, he is also slated to visit Portugal's Formula 1 racing tracks in Estoril. After visiting Portugal, Mahathir will travel next to the United States, where he will visit the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass., to tour the renowned university's research facilities. He will then go to New York where he is scheduled to address the opening session of the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 27. Mahathir will leave for London on Sept. 27 enroute home.
