UK Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Right Honorable Alistair Burt MP, addresses BBBF gathering

In his address, Mr. Burt commented, "The UK and Bahrain have strong historic ties on which to build, and the Bahrain British Business Forum provides an excellent platform for collaboration between the two countries. I am impressed by initiatives such as the recent trade delegations organised by the Economic Development Board (EDB), which I was delighted that Khalid Al Zayani participated in. There is enormous potential for stronger and deeper collaboration through such missions. I acknowledge that the region has risks, but at the same time it has never been more vibrant and had more potential. I wish Bahrain well, and I am proud to be here as Minister representing the UK."

Mr Burt has held many positions in UK Government, including Minister of State, Department of Social Security Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition, Shadow Minister for Communities and Local Government, and he is also the current MP for North East Bedfordshire. His responsibilities as UK Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Foreign & Commonwealth Office include counter terrorism and counter proliferation across the geographies of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives, North America, the Middle East and North Africa.

BBBF Chairman Khalid Al Zayani expressed his appreciation for Mr. Burt's visit and commented, "The BBBF is working increasingly closely with Embassy and Foreign Commonwealth Office, and on behalf of myself and the BBBF committee, I want to thank Mr. Burt for addressing us today, as the largest gathering he will address during his time in the Kingdom. We have seen a number of very productive and high profile visits to BBBF in support of UK industry in Bahrain, and Mr. Burt's visit cements the relationship further between our two countries. BBBF strives to provide networking and profile raising activities for its members as well as giving them access to valuable events like todays."