Press
About Us
The Arab-British Centre was founded in 1975 and aims to promote the development of friendship, understanding and cooperation between Britain and the Arab world. The Centre is a registered charity and its charitable objectives involve advancing the education of the public by providing and maintaining a centre for the dissemination of information regarding the culture, science, religion, economy and contemporary history of the Arab world. It fulfills these objectives by housing of a number of resident organisations actively involved in British-Arab relations and through its development of a cultural programme of events highlighting contemporary Arab culture.
Please call us on +44 (0)20 7832 1310 if you have any press enquiries.
ABC Trustees
Chairman: Nick St. Aubyn
Nick St Aubyn (54) served as MP for Guildford from 1997 to 2001. He was the Conservative member of the All-Party Commission of Enquiry into Palestinian Refugees, which published “Right of Return” in 2001 and “Participating in Peace” in 2003. He was also Vice Chairman of the Britain-Palestine All-Party Parliamentary Group.
From 1977 to 1986, he worked for JP Morgan, the international bank, in New York and London. A founder member of the London International Financial Futures Exchange, he helped develop the global market for financial derivatives. From 1989 to 2009, he was an active investor in diverse businesses. In 2010, he is publishing his first novel, Custom of the County, based on his native Cornwall.
His other charitable commitments include The Project Trust, which trains school leavers for one-year voluntary placements in over forty countries.
Honorary Treasure: Jamil Bullata FCA
Jamil Bullata is a Chartered Accountant and has been a Fellow Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales since 1970. Having retired in 1992, Mr Bullata continues to be active, serving as Honorary Treasurer and board member of a number of U.K. registered charities/organisations which include Action Around Bethlehem, Children with Disability (ABCD); Friends of Birzeit University (FoBZU); Rediscovering Palestine; Legal Assistance for Palestinians Trust; The Living Stones of the Holy Land Trust; The Antiochian Orthodox Church in the City of London, British Arabs Association and Arab Media Watch.
Brian Constant CBE
Between 1957 and 1970 Brian worked in various managerial posts for the Ottoman Bank in Iraq, Jordan, Qatar and Sudan. The last few years were as Manager of their Abu Dhabi Branch.
Between 1970 and 1983 he was Chief Executive of two majority Arab-owned financial institutions in London. He then joined the international division of Lloyds Bank plc where he was responsible for their Middle East, Far East and European branches, as well as their Trade and Project Finance activities. Between 1997 and 2003 he was Director General of the Middle East Association.
Brian Constant is also a director of Medical Aid for Palestinians, Middle East International and Jermyn Capital PLC.
Saeed Taji Farouky
Saeed Taji Farouky is a Palestinian/British freelance documentary filmmaker, documentary photographer and print journalist. In 2004 he founded the documentary production company Tourist With A Typewriter, dedicated to human rights and social justice documentaries.
His print and broadcast work focuses on the Middle East and North Africa where he has covered topics including the Western Sahara independence movement, the aftermath of the 2006 Israeli war on Lebanon and the siege on Gaza.
Virginia Forbes
Virginia Forbes works privately for HRH Prince Turki al Faisal on a wide range of affairs. She has done research and analysis for HRH Prince Turki and the King Faisal Philanthropic Foundation, contributing to the King Faisal Memorial Exhibition which opened in Riyadh in 2008.
During Prince Turki’s ambassadorship in London, she worked with HRH Princess Nouf bint Fahd in her initiatives to support the Saudi Community in the United Kingdom and to introduce to the British public the vital and active role of Saudi women within their own society.