MANAMA: By Nayla Barakat: The Kingdom of Bahrain is remained committed on developing the aluminium sector in line with a strategy keeping ALBA one of the top smelters in the world.
On behalf of His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain, His Excellency Shaikh Khalid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, the Deputy Prime Minister, inaugurated today Wednesday, 20 November 2019 the 23rd Arab International Aluminium Conference (ARABAL 2019) hosted by the Kingdom of Bahrain from 19 to 21 November 2019 in the presence of Her Excellency Fawziya bint Abdulla Zainal, Chairman of the Council of Representatives, and His Excellency Ali bin Saleh Al Saleh, Chairman of Shura Council, as well as senior Government Officials, CEOs of the region’s aluminium smelters as well as business leaders from various industrial sectors.
HE Shaikh Khalid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa extended his sincere thanks and gratitude to HRH the Prime Minister, for his patronage of ARABAL 2019, which confirms HRH’s support towards this crucial sector since the late 1960s via his endorsement to establishing the first aluminium smelter in the region. This support is also represented through HRH’s initiative to host ARABAL, which has now reached its 23rd edition and is being held for the 5th time in the Kingdom of Bahrain since its inception.
His Excellency also conveyed HRH’s greetings to the participants and organisers as well as his wishes to have a successful conference especially as it hosts experts and specialists from around the world in the Kingdom of Bahrain to share their knowledge and come-up with recommendations to further develop the industry in the region.
“This Conference is the most prominent event for the aluminium industry in the Middle East bringing together industry leaders and thought experts from across the world, which underlines Bahrain’s leading position in hosting events of such caliber. Bahrain has become a pioneer in this industry as it is the home of Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba), one of the world’s leading smelters.”
“The Kingdom of Bahrain under the wise leadership of His Majesty the King, and the Government led by HRH the Prime Minister, and the support of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, remain committed to developing this industry and enabling Alba to compete globally through endorsing Alba’s Line 6 Expansion Project, that will play a major role in boosting the national economy of the Kingdom, in addition to providing job opportunities for qualified and trained nationals.”
ARABAL 2019 is held under the patronage of His Royal Highness the Prime Minister under the title “Shaping the Future of the Aluminium Industry in the Arab Region” from 19 – 21 November 2019 at the Gulf Hotel – Bahrain with the participation of 40 renowned speakers and 450 delegates as well as 70 exhibitors in the exhibition held alongside the conference.
During the ceremony, Alba’s Chairman of the Board of Directors, Shaikh Daij bin Salman bin Daij Al Khalifa, delivered the keynote speech, during which he expressed his thanks and gratitude to HRH the Prime Minister for his patronage to ARABAL 2019, and HRH continuous support towards the local aluminum industry in general, and for Alba in particular, which in turn has enhanced the reputation and global status of the Kingdom of Bahrain and reinforces the Government’s continuous support to the aluminium industry being one of the major contributors to the national economy.
Shaikh Daij bin Salman bin Daij Al Khalifa expressed his sincere thanks to the organizing committee of ARABAL, led by Mr. Mohammed Al Naki, for their sincere efforts demonstrated by the event’s success and achievements throughout the years. He also conveyed his best wishes to the participants to share their views in one of the key future industries and emphasised his trust that their participation will enrich the conference to achieve its goals.
The Chairman of ARABAL Organising Committee, Mohammed Al Naki briefed the audience about the history of ARABAL since its inception in 1983 in his opening address and said:
“The aluminium smelting industry, which was adopted by the GCC countries as a strategic decision besides petroleum and petrochemical industries, has become a key player into achieving sustainable economic development in the region.
The formation of a number of smelters in the region to produce primary aluminium has helped in the establishment of many downstream and end-product industries. With GCC smelters meeting the region’s demand for the aluminium metal, these countries primarily rely on the GCC smelters to supply the primary aluminium in order to produce semi-finished and end-products. In turn, the local downstream have widely developed to cope with the development in the region.”
At the end of the ceremony, His Excellency Shaikh Khalid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa opened the Exhibition held on the sidelines of the Conference and was briefed on the major companies participating from various sectors of the global aluminium industry, including local and international smelters, raw material suppliers and downstream industries.
