Lord Mayor"s visit to bolster UK ties

The Lord Mayor of the city of London Alderman Gavyn Arthur arrives in Bahrain today.

It is Alderman Arthur's first visit to Bahrain, but he has already met Crown Prince and BDF Commander-in-Chief Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa in Britain last year.

He is accompanied by Corporation of London economic development representative John Christie and acting private secretary Richard Martin.

Travelling with the Lord Mayor are a delegation of business people put together by International Financial Services of London (IFSL), an independent private sector, not for profit organisation that promotes the UK's financial services industry.

The delegation is led by IFSL Middle East senior consultant, Trade Partners UK Middle East advisory committee member and ABC International Bank director Terence Stone.

Other delegation members include Citigroup Corporate and Investment Bank vice-chairman Anthony Nelson, Merchant Bridge and Company chairman Colin Craig, Trowers and Hamlins senior partner Martin Amison, Jasper Capital chief executive Jason Peers, United Insurance Brokers Group director Karim Jabri and HSBC project and export finance representative Michael Hodges.

The programme for the visit includes a reception at British Ambassador Peter Ford's residence in Manama tonight, a seminar on banking and finance at the Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance in Juffair and a presentation on the Bahrain Financial Harbour tomorrow, a dinner hosted by Bahrain Monetary Agency (BMA) governor Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa and a cultural tour of the Kingdom, courtesy of the Crown Prince and the BMA.

The visit, which ends on Thursday, is being organised by the British Embassy, in association with Crown Prince's Court and the BMA.

The aim is to strengthen the relationships between Bahrain, Britain and the City of London.

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