More than 600 key decision-makers from the global aluminium industry are taking part in the 18th Arab International Aluminium Conference (Arabal 2014), which opened today in Bahrain.

Hosted and organised by Aluminium Bahrain (Alba), the three-day event is being held at the Gulf Hotel's Gulf Convention Centre, under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

The event started with a workshop on 'Hedging your aluminium risk on the London Metal Exchange', followed by a field trip to the Alba smelter.

The Arabal exhibition is expected to be inaugurated by HRH the Premier on day two of the conference tomorrow.

Among those delivering speeches at the conference will be Emirates Global Aluminium's (EGA) managing director and chief executive Abdulla Kalban, senior vice-president Frank Briganti and chief marketing officer Walid Al Attar.

In addition, EGA will have an exhibition stand in the Gulf Pavilion.

It will offer the organisation a platform to showcase its brand, technology, values and vision, while networking with existing and potential new suppliers and customers.

“The Middle East plays an important role in the industry,” Kalban said.

“At EGA, we are strongly committed to the development of the industry at regional and international level.

“With our investments in the midstream and upstream sectors of the primary aluminium value chain, we have a vested interest in knowledge-sharing and benchmarking,” he said.

“This will help us to maintain continuous improvement that is vital for our sustained success.

“The Arabal events are renowned for providing an excellent forum for this purpose,” he added. - TradeArabia News Service