By kind permission of the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, HRH, Prince Abdullah bin Khaled Al Saud, Members and guests of The Saudi British Society were warmly welcomed to The Saudi British Society’s Ghazi al Gosaibi Annual Memorial Lecture at the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia on Monday, 26 January 2026 at 6.00pm.
This year’s Ghazi al Gosaibi Annual Memorial Lecture was given by The Rt Hon Alistair Burt and entitled, Learning Across Borders: strengthening skills and educational ties between Saudi Arabia and the UK.
The proceedings were expertly moderated by Dr Najah Al-Otaibi, SBS Trustee, journalist and policy advisor. Following the lecture, Members and guests enjoyed a networking reception and light refreshments.
Guest speaker, The Rt Hon Alistair Burt was Minister of State for the Middle East at the Foreign Office and a Minister of State at the Department for International Development from June 2017 to March 2019, during the Conservative Government led by Theresa May. He previously served as a health minister and as a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Foreign Office from 2010 to 2013. He entered Parliament for the first time in 1983 and was elected Conservative MP for North East Bedfordshire in 2001. He stood down from Parliament in 2019. Alistair was educated at St John’s College Oxford, where he was president of the University Law Society.