Despite the atrocious weather we've having it's been great to see so many members attending our meetings and events. On Friday 19 February it was a pleasure to see over 100 of our members attending two meetings. Keep watching our list of events, despatched every Thursday, for details on forthcoming meetings.
Sir Vincent Fean
Sir Vincent Fean, HM Ambassador to Tripoli, spoke to members and fielded questions on 19 February. Entering his last two months in Libya, this was the last chance to hear his assessment on how far the country has come over the last four years, and how far it still has to go. Clearly there will remain significant opportunities for UK consultants in many sectors, especially healthcare, education and construction as Libya seeks to diversify from oil and gas. Additionally the nascent tourism sector was touched on, as were several key issues such as payment problems, visas, and finding the right Libyan partner. British Expertise will continue to take a keen interest in this challenging but important market over the next few years.
EuropeAid
We had a packed house of 60 members on 19 February to hear Agneta Lindqvist from EuropeAid give us an update on procurement procedures as contained in the PRAG. As always, Agneta was most helpful in answering the many queries members have on the PRAG. A copy of her presentation is available by contacting Sue Davie. Members interested in EuropeAid are also recommended to attend the briefing by the Deputy Director General of EuropeAid, Richard Weber, here on Wednesday 24 March which will discuss long term strategy for EU external cooperation programmes. Any general queries please contact Nigel Peters.
Focus on the Gulf
Dominic James hosted a ‘Focus on the Gulf’ meeting for members on 24 February with high level speakers including Richard Harding QC, a leading figure in the highly topical world of dispute resolution in the Gulf, Alan Turner MD of Gleeds Gulf who spoke about Qatar, and Phil Haymes from UKTI Fiscal Stimulus team who briefed on what is happening in Saudi. Dominic also gave members a summary of findings and key contacts from his mission to Riyadh and Jeddah last week, with a focus on the Economic Cities. Clearly the Gulf offers a mixed picture at the moment, but continues to offer important opportunities to our members. For more information contact Dominic James.
New Members
We are delighted to welcome new members Altra Capital Ltd and Hamilton’s Architects. Please contact Tracey Smith for more details or if you would like to arrange an appointment with either of these new member companies.
We are planning a new members reception for early April which will be an opportunity for new members to make short presentations about their business interests to the more established members who will also be invited. More details will be included in the calendar of events soon!
With best wishes
Sue Davie
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Sir Vincent Fean at a recent meeting here at British Expertise.
