More than 260 companies and organisations from the GCC have exhibited at the largest joint GCC exhibition ever mounted in Europe. The GCC and Britain exhibition at Olympia in London from 12-18 September was organised by the Arab-British Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of GCC Chambers. The exhibition was officially opened by Baroness Thatcher, UK prime minister from 1979-90, and Saudi Arabia's Commerce Minister Sulaiman Abdel-Aziz al-Sulaiman. In his opening remarks Al-Sulaiman appealed for the removal of barriers to Arab trade with the EU and said that the government's latest announcement on petrochemicals was an invitation that European investors should take up (see Saudi Arabia).