A BBMA delegation headed by BBMA’s Chairman Mr. Khalid Almoayed concluded on 27th January 2005 a successful visit to Paris and London where they met with a number of businessmen.

The visit to Paris comes in activation of the Memorandum of understanding signed in Paris last year by the Prime Minister His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa who emphasized the need to maximize economic co-operation as part of the plan of the political leadership to entrust the private sector with a greater role in promoting and activating of the economy.

The visit’s schedule included a number of meetings with the French Businessmen Association (MEDEF) where BBMA’s Chairman Mr. Khalid Almoayed gave a comprehensive speech on BBMA activates and the democratic moves that encourage investments as part of the development march led by His Majesty the King, highlighting a number of facilities that were introduced recently. BBMA member Mr. Khamis Al Muqla also gave an outline of the developments and achievements in various fields. This was followed by individual and group discussions with a number of businessmen and Boards of Directors of a number of major French companies who expressed interest in the conducive investment environment that the Kingdom of Bahrain offers. A number of establishments and companies held luncheons and banquets for the head and members of the delegation during which discussions and negotiations on specific investment areas were discussed.
Furthermore, the delegation was pleased with meeting with Mrs. Clara Gaimard, representative of the French International Investment Board who gave a detailed presentation on what France offers by way of encouragement of foreign investors. The participants were very interested in learning such details in order to make the best use of it when investing in France.

The delegation was received at Paris Airport by the Acting Bahraini Ambassador in Paris Mr. Khalid Al Tamimi, who also participated in all activities and meetings of the BBMA with their French counterparts. He hosted a banquet in a prestigious restaurant, to which a number businessmen and businesswomen were invited as well as the Chairman of the Arab-French Chamber of Commerce, Chairman of MEDEF and the Commercial Attach? at the French Embassy in Bahrain who traveled to Paris to participate in the visit’s activities.

The Head of the delegation extended invitations to MEDEF members to visit Bahrain in the nearest future, during which visits meetings with senior government officers and leading businessmen of the private sector would be arranged.

In continuation of its trip, the delegation visited London where they met members of the House of Commons at a banquet at the Parliament House hosted by the Bahraini Friends Group led by Mr. Ken Perjas and in the presence of Dr. Omar Al Hasan of the Gulf Centre for Strategic Studies who played a major role in the preparation for this meeting. One of the major events at the meeting was the encouraging and supportive speech delivered by the British Minister of Commerce and Industry H.E. Jerry Sutcliff who praised the constructive and progressive development moves of His Majesty the King. He then thanked the BBMA Chairman and delegation members for the role that BBMA played in encouraging investment and co-operation between the two friendly countries.

Mr. Khalid Almoayed gave a brief speech that drew the attention of members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords to the positive political and investment climate that the reform scheme in Bahrain offers and to the greater role entrusted by the political leadership to the private sector. He also praised the well established democracy in the United Kingdom and the desire of Bahrainis to benefit from example of such deep rooted democracy. He then highlighted the interest of many Bahraini investors in investing more in Britain and invited the participants to visit Bahrain to see what has been accomplished by the young Bahraini democratic experiment.

His Excellency the Bahraini Ambassador in London delivered a speech in which he highlighted the economic achievements of Bahrain. He also praised BBMA for its active role in promoting the interests of the country and thanked the friends of Bahrain in the British Parliament for their efforts in promoting co-operation between the two countries, hoping that more of such activities would take place in the future.

Ahli United Bank hosted a luncheon in honour of the delegation at their offices in Portman Square during which they were shown how the Bank, being the only Bahraini bank in London, helps support Bahraini investors.
The Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain H.E. Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa hosted a banquet at his residence at Grosvenor Square in honour of the head and members of the delegation, to which leading British businessmen of Asian origin were invited to discuss how the two sides could benefit from the many positive developments in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The participants listened to speeches by H.E. the Ambassador, BBMA Chairman, Member of Parliament Mr. Khalid Mahmood, Lord Bhatia and Sir Ghulam Noon who emphasized the importance of visiting Bahrain to learn about the developments and opportunities available on the island. BBMA on its part expressed readiness to organize such visits and offered to introduce visiting delegations to senior government officials and private sector leaders. All political figures and for its efforts in creating the proper environment for more investments to absorb the increasing numbers of university graduates and alleviate pressures on the labour market.

The delegation comprised of Khalid Almoayed, Khamis Almuqla, Abdulla Ahmed Nass, Jamil Al Alwai, Ali Hassan Mahmood, Hassan Abdul Aziz Al Aali, Maisan Al Khamiri, Ahmed Abdulla bin Hindi and Saqer Shaheen Saqer in addition to Ali ABDUL Hussain from BBMA administration staff. The delegations was joined in London BY Mohammed Salahuddin, Baharat Jashanmal, Mohammed Dadabhai and Akram Miknas.

Members of the delegation praised the proper organization of the visit and highlighted the need of all sectors in the Kingdom of Bahrain for a concerted and coordinated media campaign to promote and publicize the various positive incentives that Bahrain offers for attracting investments.