The Bahrain British Business Forum (BBBF) has grown its membership to 440 people, it was announced at the organisation's annual meeting this week.

The BBBF's 12 networking functions also attracted a combined total of 1,549 people for 2011, the largest number yet, chairman Khalid Al Zayani told members at the event at the Crowne Plaza.

Speakers at these functions have included prominent figures from local organisations such as Tamkeen, the Works Ministry, the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as well as the Duke of York, a UK Foreign Office minister and British Ambassador Iain Lindsay.

"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," said Al Zayani.

"The special interest groups have been very active this year, holding 18 events with a total of 1,000 attendees, showing the value of this industry specific networking to our members and their guests," he added.

"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 and Knowlton Strategies, as well as to our extremely supportive Mr Lindsay for opening his home to us on many occasions, as well as hosting our key events at the embassy," he said. – TradeArabia News Service