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A strong delegation of companies from the Federation of Saudi Chambers made a business visit to the ABCC on Thursday afternoon 8 June 2023, for a trade roundtable and networking event held in the boardroom of the Chamber’s Mayfair premises. The Saudi executives were warmly welcomed by Mr Bandar Reda, ABCC CEO & Secretary General, and the Rt Hon Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean, ABCC Chairman.
Mr Reda expressed his great pride to be hosting the delegation of leading companies from his own country.
Rt Hon Baroness Symons spoke of the booming Saudi economy and the exceptional developments taking place across the Kingdom which were opening up many new opportunities for British businesses in many different sectors. The ABCC Chairman was delighted by the number of Saudi businesswomen present among the delegation.
The event was an opportunity for the Saudi delegates to network with their UK counterparts, who were drawn from the ABCC membership and beyond.
For the Saudi delegation, Dr Emad Abdulaziz Al-Thukair, delivered a brief but positive message during which he paid tribute to the ABCC for its efforts in developing the UK-KSA partnership and commended the leadership of Mr Reda and Rt Hon Baroness Symons.
Rita Massoud, Senior Manager, ABCC, explained the role of the Chamber in acting as a bridge for British and Arab businesses and highlighted the ABCC’s services and programme of activities including the forthcoming Arab British Economic Summit in November. On behalf of the ABCC, Ms Massoud invited Saudi companies to participate in ABES23 which was expected to attract around 1,000 delegates representing firms of all sizes from SMEs to large corporations.
The Saudi delegation consisted of high level representatives from a broad spectrum of sectors including engineering, technology, law, healthcare, education, investment and wealth management.
They had previously been taking part in a UK Saudi Business, Trade, and Partnership Forum, held the day before on Wednesday, June 7 at the Mansion House in the heart of the city. This event was supported by the City of London Corporation, the Department for Business & Trade and the Federation of Saudi Chambers of Commerce.
The forum reviewed the progress of the implementation of Saudi Vision 2030 since its first launch in 2016. Opportunities for deepening UK-Saudi trade, investment and expertise exchange were discussed at the forum and continued at the ABCC event. The discussions centrally revolve around enhancing the scope for increased private sector engagement at a time when there is eagerness on both sides to develop the already strong bilateral cooperation in areas like financial and professional services, clean energy, education, healthcare and creative industries; the latter which are currently burgeoning as never before. The ABCC event gave ample scope for networking and one-to-one meetings between the UK and Saudi business executives present.