From the Iraq Britain Business Council (IBBC):
As part of the official visit of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani to the United Kingdom the IBBC was delighted to host a business reception in honour of the Prime Minister and his delegation. The reception took place on 15th January, at the home of the Institute of Civil Engineers, One Great George Street, Westminster, and was organised in partnership with the DBT and the FCDO.
Baroness Nicholson accompanied by IBBC Senior Advisor Mr Jon Wilks CMG, welcomed their Excellencies: Mr Fuad Hussein, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affair, Mr Hayan Abdul Ghani, the Deputy Prime Minister for Energy and Minster for Oil, alongside UK Government Minister Mr Hamish Falconer, the Parliamentary Under Secretary for The Middle East and His Majesty’s Ambassador to Iraq, Mr Stephen Hitchin.
Additional senior officials attended and participated in the event and meeting IBBC guests, including the Prime Minister’s Technical Advisor Mr Al Mohammed Sahib Al-Darraji, Dr Abdulkareen Faisal, the Chair of the Prime Minister Advisory Council and Professor Hamid Khalaf, PM Advisor & Executive Director, The Higher Committee for Education Development in Iraq and The Republic Of Iraq’s Ambassador to the Court of St James, His Excellency Mohammed Jaafer Al Sadr.
Sadly, The Prime Minister was unable to attend due to unforeseen circumstances, however he did take time separately to meet several IBBC members and prominent UK Business leaders for individual meetings.
The Business Reception was attended by around 200 IBBC members and invited guests, who listened carefully to a speech from H.E. Mr Fuad Hussein, who spoke about the recent history of Iraq and the current ambition to rebuild Iraq’s infrastructure, economy and growth opportunities. He welcomed the expertise of British Companies who can contribute much to this ambition.
In reply, Mr Hamish Falconer, took time to explain the intend and potential of the $15bn Trade Deal signed between the Prime Minister of Iraq and the Prime Minister of the UK on Tuesday, which provides many opportunities for UK companies which is supported by UKEF and the Sovereign Wealth Programme of Iraq. Mr Darraji as Head of the Sovereign Wealth programme on behalf of the Iraqi Government provided more detail, via a presentation.
Link here to see the presentation
The formalities of the evening closed with a clear message from Ambassador Hitchin, encouraging UK businesses to think differently about Iraq and to build on the potential this trade deal offers.
We would like to thank everyone who was able to attend and were patient in waiting for the official party to arrive from their previous engagement. We would also like to thank the staff of One Great George Street for their support and attention to everyone present.
IBBC would particularly like to thank Mr Rasheed Al Janabi of GE Vernova and his leadership team for their support and partnership in the organisation of the event.
Feedback from those attending was highly positive, about the Reception, the opportunities in Iraq and the direct opportunity for IBBC members to meet with our dignitaries following the end of the formal component of the evening. Click here to view the Press release.
IBBC Baghdad Conference. February 17th. Al Rasheed Hotel
While this event was a major success for IBBC, we move swiftly on to the organisation of our next Conference. On February 17th, the IBBC will gather with a Conference under the Patronage of Prime Minister Al Sudani. The conference will focus around the theme ‘Delivering Innovation’ which aligns to one of the core objectives of the newly issued 5 year National Development Plan of Iraq.
The Conference is open to all IBBC Members, with tickets now available Free of Charge. Non-members may apply to IBBC London ([email protected]) to discuss membership or paid attendance.
This post was originally published on here
