Qatalum attends Gulf Aluminium Council dinner

Over 250 industry leaders gather to share experience, knowledge and vision, and to explore opportunities for synergy between operations.

Qatalum attends Gulf Aluminium Council dinner

Foreground from left to right:  ​​Jacynthe Côté, chief executive of Rio Tinto Alcan, HE Sheikha Lubna Bint Khalid Bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Minister for foreign trade of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Abdulla Jassem Mohamed Jassem Bin Kalban, president & CEO of Dubal and chairman of  the GAC

Qatalum attends Gulf Aluminium Council dinner  2.jpgQatalum's CEO, Jan Arve Haugan, second from left, speaking with media persons and industry peers​

Qatalum attends Gulf Aluminium Council dinner  3.jpgMahmood Daylami, General Secretary of the Gulf Aluminium Council addressing the invitees at the dinner

Qatalum, the state-of-the-art aluminium smelter constructed as a joint venture between Qatar Petroleum and Hydro in line with Qatar's long-term economic diversification strategy, attended the Gulf Aluminium Dinner, an exclusive by-invitation-only event that reflects the importance of the Gulf region as an emerging hub in the global aluminium industry.

Hosted by Dubal, the dinner, which took place at the Meydan Racecourse on 3 March 2011, saw over 250 invited aluminium industry leaders gathering in Dubai to celebrate the success of the Gulf's aluminium industry, and to build and strengthen the existing relationship between regional and international organisations with aluminium business interests in the Gulf.

HE Sheikha Lubna Bint Khalid Bin Sultan Al Qasimi, UAE Minister for Foreign Trade, the first woman to hold a ministerial post in the UAE, delivered the keynote address. Ms Jacynthe Côté, CEO of Rio Tinto Alcan, the global leader in the aluminium industry, and executive committee member of Rio Tinto, a leading international mining group, also spoke to those present about the future of the regional and global aluminium industry.

Speaking of the importance of the event, Qatalum CEO Jan Arve Haugan said, "The Middle East is emerging as a significant new primary aluminium producer, and the regional industry is only starting to realise its full potential. Qatalum is one of three new aluminium projects in the Gulf region to have started since 2008, and it is growing into a sustainable economic catalyst that is at the heart of turning Qatar's gas energy into a valuable commodity – solid aluminium."

"For the past two years Qatalum has been expanding and working on improving our status in the aluminium industry. We are well on our way to creating and building a strong, knowledge-based industry in Qatar and the region, and events such as this dinner allow industry leaders to come together and share our experience, our knowledge and our vision for the future, and to explore opportunities for synergy between our operations. As a founding member of the Council, Qatalum is particularly proud to be a partner in this event and to promote its goals," Haugan added.

The Gulf Aluminium Council is a coordinating body that represents, promotes and protects the interests of the aluminium industry within the Gulf, with a Board comprising the CEOs of the six founding member companies: Aluminium Bahrain (Alba), Dubai Aluminium Company (Dubal), Emirates Aluminium (Emal), Sohar Aluminium (Sohar) in Oman, the Saudi Mining Company (Ma'aden) and Qatar Aluminium (Qatalum). Its main objectives are to provide a forum to develop strategies for common issues and concerns facing the aluminium industry in the region, and to share best practices so as to improve the efficiency of the industry.

The Gulf Aluminium Dinner brought together executives from aluminium producing companies, technology providers, power generation manufacturers, traders, aluminium users, raw material producers, equipment manufacturers, services organization, banks, suppliers and government officials from all over the world to celebrate the success of the aluminium industry in the Gulf and to build and strengthen the relationships between regional and international organisations that have aluminium business interest in the Gulf.​

Qatalum is a state-of-the-art green-field aluminium smelter that was constructed in line with Qatar's long-term economic diversification strategy, and through the plant Qatar will be responsible for a significant portion of GCC aluminium production. Our aim is also to be a strong catalyst for the development of aluminium-related industries in Qatar, in particular, and the region in general.​