Dear Stan,
It was a pleasure to welcome you to the Third Middle East and Africa FinTech Forum Dinner last week. I take this opportunity to personally thank you for your feature article that you published in last week’s GulfWeekly, Flags flying for the future by way of coverage of the event.
Transparency and honesty are qualities that should be always saluted. In your case, not only have you lived up to the highest standards of such core values, but your efforts to go the extra mile in researching some of the information cited in my speech to complement it for the reader (i.e. the citation of the Disruption Index or the full story related to the Battle of Cascina) were to my mind simply impressive.
On behalf of Bank ABC and AFS, we sincerely thank you for your outstanding journalism. I wish you and your team continued success and prosperity.
Khaled Kawan, Group Chief Executive Officer,
Bank ABC (Arab Banking Corporation).
Under the patronage of the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Zayed bin Rashid Al Zayani, the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA) has launched the fourth edition of the Bahrain Food Festival.
Since its launch in 2016, the event has attracted residents and visitors from neighboring GCC countries, further positioning the kingdom as a regional gastronomy destination.
The festival includes fun-filled activities and stations, including cooking demonstrations by international chefs, live musical performances, games and more.
The festival is a highlight of BTEA’s extensive series of events and activities which continues to attract visitors of different age groups from Bahrain and the wider region.
It continues to grow year-after-year and the authority strives continually to add more entertainment activities and shows that are suitable for the entire family. Therefore, it gives us great pleasure to be launching the fourth edition, which we hope will achieve even greater success than previous years.
The festival serves as a platform that provides participating restaurants and outlets with the opportunity to showcase their concepts, further increasing its popularity and drawing in more visitors.
The strategic partners of Bahrain Food Festival 2019 include Batelco and Alosra. Other partners include Awal Gas, GFH, Bahrain Bay, The Avenues Bahrain, House of Uniforms and IKEA. Additionally, 108 vendors will be participating in this year’s edition, 73 of which are new vendors and 81 are local vendors.
The festival will offer visitors varied cuisines including Middle Eastern, Western, Asian, Indian, Organic and Healthy options.
Hosting the Bahrain Food Festival comes in line with the BTEA’s overall strategy aimed at developing and strengthening the tourism sector under the slogan of ‘Ours. Yours.’ which contributes towards the kingdom’s economy and the 2030 Economic Vision.
Shaikh Khaled bin Humood Al Khalifa,
CEO of BTEA.
Editor’s note: The event will run until March 16, from 5pm to 11pm, at ‘The Park’ in The Avenues Bahrain.
See Leisure Guide: Pages 8 & 9.
Al Mabarrah Al Khalifia Foundation has announced the commencement of registration for its ‘Rayaat Scholarship Programme’ for the academic year of 2019-2020.
The programme offers 40 Bachelor Degree scholarships at accredited universities in the kingdom. Also, this year Rayaat will be dedicating three scholarships to athletes with outstanding achievements, which comes in line with the directives of His Highness Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Representative of His Majesty the King for Charity Works & Youth Affairs, chairman of the Supreme Council of Youth and Sports and president of Bahrain Olympic Committee.
This step aims to commemorate the efforts of the athletes through their participation in regional and international sports events.
The Rayaat Programme comes in line with MKF’s mission to empower youth and enrich their life skills and educational journey in a variety of fields.
We aim to nurture a generation of qualified and educated Bahraini youth, who are able to elevate Bahrain’s positioning regionally and internationally, through enrolling them in accredited universities in Bahrain to complete their education and pursue a higher qualification.
Al Mabarrah Al Khalifia Foundation has granted more than 270 scholarships in different fields in accordance to students’ abilities, capabilities, job market needs and Bahrain’s Economic Vision 2030.
We always strive to establish a collaborative environment with entities from the public and private sectors to help young people towards reaching their full potential.
Her Highness Shaikha Zain bint Khalid Al Khalifa, chairperson of the board of trustees.
Editor’s note: Students can apply for the scholarship programme via MKF’s website until March 31.
