GPIC attends AFA meeting in Cairo

Manama, Feb. 19 (BNA): The Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (GPIC) took part in the 25th meeting of the Arab Fertiliser Association (AFA) in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, on February 12-14. The AFA Forum is the leading economic event in the fertiliser industry of the Arab and the Middle East region. GPIC President Dr. Abdulrahman Jawahery said GPIC is always keen to participate in various AFA activities and gatherings. Dr. Jawahery spoke about the large participation in the activities of the forum and praised the attendance at the accompanying exhibition, which had some of the largest Arab and international companies specialised in the fertiliser industry and equipment taking part. The company president praised the organising committee in preparing for the event and said those attending had expressed great satisfaction at the facilities. He also spoke of the response of companies keen to attend and participate in the exhibition and said these had been keen to attend and share the good reputation and prestige of the regional association. He said exhibitors presented the latest industrial equipment for the fertiliser industry, which attracted a lot of interest. He said the fertiliser industry in the Arab world is today considered one of the most important strategic industries and a key pillar in the countries’ economies. He said the AFA is looking to identify problems facing production and bottlenecks that lead to reducing capacity while also ensuring qualitative consumption of raw materials and reducing waste. He said the countries in the region had shown keen interest in the development of this sector, an important tributary of the national economy of the countries of the region as part of its quest towards achieving sustainable development. He said the share of Arab exports in world markets had reached 71 per cent phosphate rock, 81 per cent superphosphate, 49 per cent ammonia, 25 per cent urea and 41 percent of other products. He said the AFA seeks to establish a network of communication between Arab companies through direct contact and organising technical workshops, conferences and forums to develop solutions to these problems while closely reviewing the experiences and vision of these companies, taking into account the applied cases and achievements in the fields of protection of the environment and occupational safety. The event discussed several important issues, including the fertiliser policy in the region, factors affecting it and the changing of views regarding the conditions and standards of global supply and demand markets. IT also discussed global outlook for oil and gas and the implications of agricultural and fertiliser markets, awareness and effective use of fertilisers, especially in the African continent. The event addressed sustainable development issues of this industry, as well as explored ways to promote global food security, environmental protection, solving economic challenges and insurance issues and modernising and developing the dry cargo market. More than 133 companies and organisations, as well as representatives from the largest representative bodies of the sector from more than 33 countries were present at the event, along with over 500 well-known personalities in the fertiliser sector from around the world. The GPIC has a global reputation in the fertiliser industry and has been awarded the World Federation of Fertilisers Award for Protection and Sustainability. The company is closely associated with the AFA, of which Dr. Jawahery is a former chairman.