KUWAIT/LONDON: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah yesterday sent a cable of congratulations to the Chairman of Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) Ali Mohammad Al-Ghanem. In the cable, His Highness the Amir expressed his sincere congratulations to Ghanem for having been selected honorary president of the Arab-British Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) in appreciation for his great and continuous efforts to consolidate the economic and commercial relations between the Arab countries and the friendly United Kingdom. His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah sent him similar congratulatory cables.

Ghanem had expressed on Monday his pride of ABCC choosing him to be its first honorary president. In statements following a ceremony held by the ABCC in London to honor him, Ghanem hailed the ABCC move as an honoring for the State of Kuwait, its leadership and people. This is an honoring for Kuwait and its leadership who was and is still encouraging all efforts to develop national economy and strengthen economic relations with all countries, he said. He pointed out that Kuwait's relationship with Britain is special and distinguished and the Kuwaiti government is always striving to strengthen these relations at all levels.

Meanwhile, the Ambassador of Kuwait and the Dean of the Arab and Foreign Corps in the UK Khaled Al-Duwaisan affirmed that Ghanem is a distinguished person in Kuwait and abroad. Ghanem has left outstanding hallmarks and achieved great successes in through all the posts he had held, Duwaisan said. He stressed that Ghanem had a prominent role throughout his membership in the Board of Directors of ABCC in cementing trade relations between the Arab countries and Britain. Through his special relations with the British side, he helped remove obstacles facing many Arab businessmen.

During the ceremony, ABCC Secretary-General and CEO Bandar Reda hailed Ghanem's "tireless efforts" to strengthen Arab-British trade relations, particularly relations between Gulf countries, especially Kuwait, and Britain, through all the posts he held. "Naming Ghanem as an honorary president of the ABCC is just a recognition of his efforts and support to the ABCC," Reda clarified. In his speech, Ghanem affirmed that the ABCC represents a unique form of joint Arab action institutions that aim to enhance Arab economic and cultural cooperation with the world. Ghanem said that the chamber has made important accomplishments and implemented various missions.

He also pointed out that the Arab-British relations are concentrated in four areas, namely energy, trade, investment and security, and all these areas are witnessing radical changes in their nature, importance and trends. He noted that these changes are evolving rapidly due to the great Asian growth, which is about to return the global economic weight to the east, with its huge size and high competitiveness. Ghanem held many positions and was elected as the President of the Chambers of the Gulf Cooperation Council states, and he was awarded the highest merit medal from the Federal Republic of Germany from the German President in 2005. - KUNA