Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) Governor Rasheed Al Maraj will be the keynote speaker at a dinner organised by the Bahrain British Business Forum (BBBF) as part of activities to coincide with the World Islamic Banking Conference (WIBC).

'It is a great honour to have Al Maraj speaking at our dinner for WIBC and Bahrain hosting this conference reflects the importance of the kingdom as a financial centre and the growing interest from around the world in Islamic finance,' said BBBF chairman Khalid Al Zayani.

'It is also a great pleasure for me to welcome our colleagues from UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) and from the recently established UK Islamic Finance Secretariat, who are promoting UK expertise in Islamic finance, and the BBBF looks forward to developing opportunities for both countries.'

'Bahrain retains its important position for Islamic finance and the BBBF wants to support the British focus on this area - this is a key event for our new group,' said BBBF financial services interest group head Premal Patel.

'Anyone involved in financial services will find this event of interest and an excellent opportunity to meet the delegation from the UK.'

The dinner is being held at the Crowne Plaza at 7pm on November 21.

Tickets for the dinner cost BD20 for non-BBBF members and BD15 for BBBF members and can be obtained from BBBF office.

The WIBC will be held from November 22 to 24 at the Gulf Convention Centre.

Preconference workshops will be held on November 22 and the CBB governor will formally open the conference on November 23.

UKTI and the UK Islamic Finance Secretariat will exhibit at the conference alongside seven companies making up a UK pavilion.

In addition, eight other UK companies are taking independent stands at the exhibition and a further 13 UK companies will attend as delegates.

More than 1,200 delegates from 50 countries are expected to attend the WIBC. UKTI and the UK Islamic Finance Secretariat are organising a breakout session at the conference on November 23.-TradeArabia News Service