A group of scientists, led by Phillip A. Griffiths, Director of the Institute of Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ (USA), met at the Centre in late June to discuss the prospects for launching "millennium science institutes" in the Middle East. Representatives from Iran, Lebanon, Turkey and Tunisia were in attendance. The effort is part of the Millennium Science Initiative (MSI), launched in 1998 with the help of the World Bank for the purpose of building worldclass scientific centres of excellence throughout the developing world. MSI efforts are currently in various stages of development in South America and Africa.