2023/2024 is our second year of normal operations following the COVID disruptions. At our last AGM we had a lively discussion led by one of our Trustees Najah Al-Otaibi on the emerging arts scene in Saudi Arabia and the role of women. This was a panel discussion featuring another two of our Trustees Intisar Alyamani and Ghadah AlHarthi. Janet Rady, an expert in Islamic art history completed a knowledgeable and engaging panel.
In October we hosted an event at the Saudi Embassy on the development of commercial mediation and dispute resolution in Saudi Arabia. Speakers were Abdulaziz Aldomaji, Chairman of the Board of Tarmeez Capital and former Vice-President of Financial Affairs Saudi Post Corporation and Michael Cover, a professional arbitrator, mediator, and adjudicator.
In November we held our Annual Dinner and Presentation of the Rawabi Awards at the Institute of Directors in Pall Mall. The worthy winners of the 2023 Rawabi Awards were Sir Derek Plumbly and Basil Ghayalini. Sir Derek was a former British Ambassador to Saudi Arabia and Chairman of The Saudi British Society as well as Chair of the Arab British Centre. Basil is CEO of BMG Financial Group and has been a major promoter of cultural and sporting ties between the UK and Saudi Arabia.
This year for the first time we introduced an award for the two most outstanding Saudi students in the UK. The inaugural awards went to Mohamed Faisal Alawami and Sara Abdullah Aldaweesh, PHD students at Cambridge and Oxford respectively.
We are grateful to Sheikh AbdulAziz AlTurki and Rawabi Holding for their continued support and sponsorship of these awards.
In April we hosted a talk by Bizzie Frost, a long-time resident in Saudi Arabia. Based on her book “Travels with Miridadi” she shared her remarkable adventures travelling across Saudi Arabian deserts and mountains on a Harley Davison motorbike with her husband.
This year’s Ghazi al Gosaibi Memorial Lecture was delivered by Simon Collis who was British Ambassador to Saudi Arabia from 2015-2020, on the theme of recent developments in Saudi modernisation.
We are also grateful to Ghadah Alharthi for arranging private visits for members to both Sotheby’s and Christie’s last month. Ghadah is also arranging further private visits of an upcoming sale of Islamic Art.
We continue to welcome donations to the Philby Arabia Fund which was agreed at the AGM in 2022. The fund was established on the back of the successful “Heart of Arabia” Expedition led by Mark Evans to retrace the steps of Harry St John Philby’s epic journey by camel across Saudi Arabia. The Fund which can be supported via the SBS website will in future provide grants to young people undertaking expeditions of research in fields related to those pursued by St John Philby. Unfortunately, the Fund has not yet reached a sufficient level to enable us to invite applications for grants.
There has been no change in any of the Trustees in the past year. I have been Chairman for five years now and I am stepping down at this year’s AGM. I am delighted to announce that the Trustees have agreed that Simon Collis should replace me as Chair.
I am also sad to report that David Lloyd OBE died in July this year aged 82. David was a longstanding friend of Saudi Arabia having served there with the Foreign Office in the 80s and 90s. On his retirement from the FCO he was active in the Middle East Association organising many trade missions to the country. He was a Trustee of The Saudi British Society for many years and in recognition of his contribution to Saudi-British friendship he was the recipient of the Rawabi Award in 2020. He will be sadly missed.
The SBS X account continues to be very active thanks to Najah Al-Otaibi. Peter Harrigan and Karen Worcester as Hon Secretary and Hon Treasurer respectively continue to bear the brunt of the work in keeping the Society running. I am also grateful to all the other Trustees for their voluntary contributions without which the Society could not function.
We were pleased that the King Faisal Centre for Research and Islamic Studies remains a Gold Sponsor for the SBS. We would welcome sponsorship from other companies either Saudi or British who have an interest in promoting greater cultural understanding and cooperation between the two countries. Details are on the Society’s website.
Sir William Patey
Chairman
September 2024