TOP students from 22 Arab countries will get to attend a master's programme at the National University of Singapore with funds from the premier of the United Arab Emirates.

Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Al Maktoum, ruler of Dubai and UAE Prime Minister, gave a US$10 billion (S$14 billion) grant last year to establish a foundation.

Part of the grant will go to scholarships here, the NUS told The Straits Times last week.

One of the foundation's objectives is to educate talented Arab students to become the region's future leaders.

It will allow professionals and students to pursue post-graduate studies in business administration, public policy and finance at top universities around the world.

The NUS Business School and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy were two of the schools selected. Others include Harvard, Stanford and Princeton Universities.

Each two-year scholarship is estimated to be worth up to US$130,000 and includes the full cost of a master's programme.

Recipients will have to return to the region to work for at least two years.

'Our objective is to help reverse the region's brain drain and encourage human capital to contribute to the development of the Arab region,' a spokesman for the foundation said.

The programme will start in August.

The foundation will also support research in universities across the region and provide leadership schemes for youth.