Alba Delegation led by its Chairman of the Board at the 24th Arab-German Business Forum 2021
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba)’s Chairman of the Board of Directors, Shaikh Daij bin Salman bin Daij Al Khalifa, was a keynote speaker at the 24th Arab-German Business Forum 2021 that was held from 04 to 06 October 2021 at the Hotel Ritz-Carlton Berlin, Germany.
The three-day Arab-German Business Forum is a leading platform for promoting Arab-German business relations, and comprises panel discussions, Ambassador roundtables and country workshops with the participation of high-level speakers who focus on key sectors with economies that create opportunities and growth.
Alba’s Chief Executive Officer Ali Al Baqali and Chief Marketing Officer Khalid A. Latif were key members of the Panel Discussions at the Forum, which was also attended by Alba’s Director Marketing Boris Santosi and Director Investor Relations, Insurance & Corporate Secretary Eline Hilal.
In his keynote address at the 24th Arab-German Business Forum, Alba’s Chairman of the Board Shaikh Daij bin Salman bin Daij Al Khalifa thanked Ghorfa for playing a key role in promoting economic and business relations between Germany and the Arab countries. Emphasizing on the excellent partnerships between German companies and Alba that go back to decades, Shaikh Daij said: “Over the last fifty years throughout Alba’s expansion projects, German companies have been our trusted partners on many fronts due to their renowned technological expertise. We are truly proud of the strong ties that we have developed together with our German associates over the years.”
Adding further: “Bahrain is one of the most friendly countries in the Middle East and we look forward to see more German participation in Bahrain’s manufacturing sector especially in our aluminium downstream cluster as Alba’s Line 6 Expansion Project has added 540,000 metric tonnes per annum (mtpa) to Alba’s +1,000,000 mtpa built-in capacity.”
As a panelist on the ‘Digitalization: How Industry 4.0 can drive Diversification in the Middle East’ discussion, Alba’s CEO Ali Al Baqali gave a snapshot on Alba’s digital aspirations and emphasised on the Company’s prime Savings Programme ‘Al Hassalah’ which aims to achieve US$100 million by the end of 2022. Al Baqali said: “Digital transformation is part of Alba’s five-year strategy. We believe that the various digitisation projects - ongoing and the ones we plan to do in the near future - will progress our transition towards Industry 4.0 - in line with the Bahrain’s Economic Vision 2030.”
Alba’s CMO Khaled A. Latif, who was part of the Panel Discussion on ‘Logistics and Transport: The Mobility and Connectivity Transition in the Arab World’, said: “We know the global logistics issue is a challenge for many, but such challenges are not show-stoppers for us as we are fully committed to finding ways and means to delivering our metal to our clients on time, and wherever they are.”