The Arab British Chamber of Commerce held its annual winter reception on the evening of Tuesday 11th December 2018.
The event was held at the Prestana Chelsea Bridge Hotel in the presence of numerous Arab Ambassadors and dignitaries, diplomats, senior business executives, ABCC Board members, representatives of Chamber member companies, executive officers from the British chambers and many friends of the ABCC.
The Rt Hon Baroness Symons, ABCC Chairman, received all the guests and welcomed them on behalf of the Chamber’s Board of Directors.
Speeches and special greetings were delivered by Mr Mohamad Abdo Saeed, President of the Union of Arab Chamber and Dr Khaled Hanafi, Secretary General of the Union of Arab Chambers.
The highlight of the evening was the welcoming of Mr Bandar Ali Reda, the new Secretary-General and Chief Executive Officer of the Arab-British Chamber of Commerce, whose appointment was approved by the Board of Directors of the ABCC following his appointment by the General Union of Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture for the Arab Countries.
In response, the Secretary General expressed his appreciation to The Rt Hon Baroness Symons for all her work as Chairman and extended his thanks to the Council and members of the Board for their trust and support.
He pledged to redouble efforts to further strengthen the strategic relations between Britain and the Arab World stressing that the Arab-British partnership is built on solid foundations and underlined the key role that the Arab-British Chamber of Commerce would play in aspiring towards greater achievements and progress in the future.
It is worth mentioning that the Board of Directors of the Union of Arab Chambers approved the selection of Mr Bandar Bin Ali Reda, the candidate of the Council of Saudi Chambers, as Secretary-General and CEO of the ABCC after he had obtained a majority of the votes of its members.
Mr Bandar Ali Reda is well respected for his high-level of knowledge and skills by virtue of his position as Commercial Attaché to several embassies of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in addition to his extensive experience within the private sector.
The Prestana Chelsea Bridge Hotel & Spa and GHS Global Hospitality were warmly thanked for their hospitality in hosting the Winter Reception which attracted in excess of 200 guests.