ARABAL 2019 opens

On behalf of His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the Prime Minister, Shaikh Khalid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, the Deputy Prime Minister, inaugurated yesterday the 23rd Arab International Aluminium Conference (ARABAL 2019) in the presence of Fawziya Zainal, Chairman of the Council of Representatives, and Ali 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.

On this occasion, 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 fifth time in the Kingdom since its inception.”

The Deputy Premier 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. He said: “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 BSC (Alba), one of the world’s leading smelters.” He highlighted: “The Kingdom 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 aluminium 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.