JEDDAH, 15 June 2006 — A two-day conference sponsored by British Offset, which is part of the Al-Yamamah Offset Program, will be held in London on June 19 and 20. The event precedes the 10th annual GCC Cup, a challenge polo match held annually between a British team — captained for the last nine years by Prince Charles — and an invitation team from the Gulf states.
The Offset Program aims to diversify Saudi Arabia’s economy through joint ventures and licensing agreements which introduce new technology into the Kingdom. The conference will draw together leaders and potential investors in three days of business discussion and the exercise of corporate charity.
Amr Abdullah Al-Dabbagh, governor of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority, will deliver the keynote address at the conference. With the recent relaxation of investment rules fir foreign individuals and companies, the conferees will have an opportunity to question senior government and business officials in detail during the two days of panel discussions.
Other speakers include the Saudi ambassador to the UK, Mohammed ibn Nawaf, UK ambassador to Saudi Arabia Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, David Brewer, Lord Mayor of London, Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce Dr. Fawaz Al-Alamy. Panel discussions will be led by key businessmen, economists and bankers representing both Saudi Arabia and the UK.
The 10th GCC Polo Cup match, this year dedicated to the memory of the late King Fahd, will be held at the Guards Polo club at Windsor Great Lawn on June 21.
“The Gulf Polo Cup combines the pleasure of giving, with the pleasure of watching some of the world’s finest polo players, in one of the world’s most magnificent settings,” said Cowper-Coles in Riyadh yesterday. “It celebrates in style the ties of generosity and of common values which bind Britain and our friends and partners in the heartlands of Arabia.” The high profile event highlights the strong links between the Kingdom and Gulf states and the UK; the business conference this year is to highlight the importance that the UK ascribes both to the Kingdom as Britain’s largest trading partner in the region and the GCC states as a whole.
“We dedicated this year’s event to the memory of our late king as he was a man of great vision,” said Basil Al-Ghalayini, CEO of BMG Financial Advisors, which has organized the event since its inception. “The event is one of the ways we discharge our social and humanitarian responsibilities and it is an opportunity for leaders in the private sector to join forces and benefit thousands of needy people around the world.”
The GCC Cup has become a regular summer fixture on the polo scene. Over the last nine years, it has raised several million riyals for charities including the Prince’s Trust, the Disabled Children’s Association in Saudi Arabia and the Graham Layton Trust in Pakistan and the Disabled Association in Lebanon.