ALUMINIUM Bahrain (Alba) has appointed the kingdom’s national carrier Gulf Air, as the official airline partner for the upcoming Arabal 2014.

The Arabal Conference will bring together key players from the aluminium industry across the world on a single platform from November 25 to 27 at the Gulf Hotel under the theme “GCC: An aluminium power house.”

Isa Al Ansari, Alba’s chief operations officer, said: “We are excited to have Gulf Air as the official airline partner for Arabal 2014. This event is expected to attract more than 700 delegates from across the world, and as a global player and the flag carrier of Bahrain, we are confident that Gulf Air is the perfect partner for us to host an event of such international repute.

“This tie-up underlines the cooperation shared between major entities in Bahrain to support as well as elevate the status of Bahrain at an international level.”

Conference delegates will include key decision-makers and industry leaders from all sectors of the aluminium industry in the region and across the world. The event is  being hosted for the fourth time in Bahrain and will be held under the patronage of Bahrain’s Prime Minister, HRH Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa.

Arabal is the premier trade event for the Middle East’s aluminium industry and the only conference in the world attended by every single primary aluminium manufacturer in the region, making it the “conference of choice for anyone interested in the Middle East aluminium industry,” an Alba statement said.

Topics on the agenda include: GCC smelters in focus; outlook for the global aluminium industry; Bahrain at the heart of the aluminium downstream; alumina and refined bauxite dynamics in a dynamic environment; renewable energy; sustainability and the environment; higher education; LME: today and tomorrow.

The first Arabal event was held in 1983 with Kuwait Aluminium Co bringing together leading figures in the Middle East’s aluminium industry to discuss issues of the day.