On Wednesday 14th June we held the 130th Annual General Meeting and Dinner, one of the most important events of our institution. This year the event took place at the Merchant Taylors’ Hall, one of London’s traditional Livery Halls and one of the oldest still in activity.
On this special occasion, we were honoured to have Ms. Marisa Poncela García, Secretary of State for Trade, as our Guest of Honour.
The Annual General Meeting was held at the impressive Parlour room in Merchant Taylors’ Hall.
As it is traditional, the Annual General Meeting, exclusively for members of our institution, preceded the drinks reception and dinner that would follow later in the evening. The members’ meeting took place at The Parlour, one of the most exclusives spaces of Merchant Taylors’ while the drinks reception took place at the beautiful terrace Courtyard Garden.
During the members’ General Meeting, the Executive Committee of the Chamber presented the Financial Statements of 2016, as well as the Memorandum of the activities and events organised by the Chamber during the mentioned year. Afterwards, H.E. the Ambassador of Spain presented a macroeconomic analysis of the Spanish economic situation and provided data regarding the bilateral relationship between Spain and the United Kingdom, highlighting the importance of the trade balance.
We would like to highlight that this year we had elections for the Committee of the Chamber. These elections are taking place every 4 years when 22 of our members are chosen to become part of the Committee of the Chamber.
Members of the Chamber voting for the election of our Committee.
Those of our members who could not attend the Annual General Meeting were voting via post during the previous week, whereas the other members had the opportunity to vote in person.
Once the Annual General Meeting had concluded, the drinks reception began at the Courtyard Terrace. With favourable weather, our guests had the opportunity to sample iberico ham provided by our member Boqueria, paired with cava from Codorníu Raventós Patron of the Chamber.
Attendees had the opportunity to start business conversations with representatives of Spanish and British companies during the drinks reception.
After the drinks reception, guests were ushered to the Great Hall where dinner would be taking place and went on to take their seats. The proceedings of the dinner started with H.E. the Ambassador of Spain leading the traditional loyal toasts in honour of the King of Spain and the Queen of Great Britain. Both Spanish and British national anthems were played during the loyal toast.
Everything was ready at Merchant Taylors for our guests to enjoy our 130th AGM Dinner.
Before the dinner was served, it was time for the traditional round of speeches. To begin with, the President of the Chamber, Mr. Javier San Basilio, took the floor to thank members for their continuous support and express his gratitude to all attendees for joining us on such a wonderful evening.
The President of the Spanish Chamber then gave the floor to H.E. the Ambassador of Spain, Mr. Carlos Bastarreche, who expressed his sincere gratitude to the institution for allowing him to share such an important evening with our members and attendees, and kindly introduced our Guest of Honour, Ms. Marisa Poncela García, Secretary of State for Trade.
Ms. Marisa Poncela, Secretary of State for Trade
During her speech, Ms. Marisa Poncela García expressed her gratitude to the Spanish Chamber for the invitation to be the Guest of Honour on such an important evening. She provided the audience with an interesting and detailed insight of economic indicators across the United Kingdom and Spain. As a final note before closing her speech, Ms. Marisa Poncela García underlined the importance of maintaining close economic relations between Spain and the United Kingdom, in spite of the uncertain future that Brexit could bring about to the trade relations between both countries.
When speeches ended, our guests could enjoy a delicious dinner. The atmosphere was vibrant and relaxed as our Patrons, members and their guests mingled and exchanged their impressions of the evening, which provided a great opportunity to connect with fellow colleagues and members.
The magnificent Great Hall was the perfect setting to hold the dinner for this special occasion.
Finally, we would very much like to thank our members and their guests for joining us on the occasion of our 130th Annual General Meeting and for sharing such a special evening for our institution. We are truly grateful to our Patron Codorníu Raventós for their contribution with the wines and cava that were served throughout the event as well as Boqueria, member of the Chamber, for their kind contribution of a delicious iberico ham served during the drinks reception.
Please click here to access the complete gallery of pictures of the 130th Annual General Meeting. For a short video on how the evening went, please click on the following link 130th Annual General Meeting Video.
For further information about events in 2017, do not hesitate to visit our Upcoming Events section at www.spanishchamber.co.uk or subscribe to our newsletter to receive weekly updates in your inbox.
