British Business Forum holds AGM and EGM

Mr. Rupert Potter, Deputy Head of Mission at the UK Embassy, also gave an address as he is to depart Bahrain after four years to take up another position within the UK Government.

New committee members - who were appointed due to the departure of committee members from Bahrain - were also welcomed, including Mr. Jonathon Trafankowski as Treasurer and Mr. Bill Scarth as UK Embassy Representative, who also gave members an update on the UKTI's updated strategy.

Amongst the numerous achievements was growing the BBBF's membership to 440 businessmen and women representing all sectors of business while the BBBF's 12 networking functions also attracted a combined total of 1549 for 2011, the largest number yet.

Speakers at these functions have included prominent figures from local organizations such as Tamkeen, the Ministry of Works, the BCCI, as well as the Duke of York, the UK Foreign Office Minister and the British Ambassador to Bahrain.

Mr. Al Zayani commented in his address: "Despite a challenging year we have grown our membership to the highest ever at 440 members, and this includes many Bahraini members, who were a key part of our growth strategy last year. The Special Interest Groups have been very active this year, holding 18 events with a total of 1000 attendees, showing the value of this industry specific networking to our members and their guests. We have also seen more young people joining the group, they are the leaders of the future and this is what will sustain the valuable work of the BBBF in years to come. A big thank you goes to our sponsors HSBC, Gulf Air, AXA Insurance and Hill + Knowlton Strategies, as well as to our extremely supportive British Ambassador, HE Iain Lindsay for opening his home to us on many occasions, as well as hosting our key events the Curry Night and Business Bazaar at the Embassy."