Bahrain's business community was yesterday praised for the strong ties that had been built between the kingdom and the UK.

More than 160 members of the Bahrain British Business Forum (BBBF) attended the annual Christmas lunch at the Crowne Plaza hotel. It was addressed by guest of honour Britain's Minister for Mena Alistair Burt.

'The UK and Bahrain have strong historic ties on which to build, and the BBBF provides an excellent platform for collaboration between the two countries,' said Burt.

'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 has more potential. I wish Bahrain well, and I am proud to be here,' he added.

Burt's responsibilities as UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office include counter-terrorism and counter-proliferation across the geographies of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, the Maldives, North America, the Middle East and North Africa.

BBBF chairman Khalid Al Zayani said the forum is working closely with the British Embassy and Foreign Commonwealth Office.
 
'We have seen a number of very productive and high profile visits to the BBBF in support of UK industry in Bahrain, and Burt's visit cements the relationship further between our two countries,' he remarked.

'The BBBF strives to provide networking and profile-raising activities for its members, giving them access to valuable events like today's,' he added.-TradeArabia News Service