The Arab Iron and Steel Union held its Board of Directors meetings No. 128 and General Assembly No. 57 in the city of Algiers, the Republic of Algeria, at the Eurasian Hotel on May 19 and 20, at the kind invitation of the Metal and Steel Industries Complex “Imetal ”, in the presence of representatives of iron and steel companies that are members of the Union.

Mr. Awaad Al-Khalidi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Arab Iron and Steel Union, and Chairman of the Board of Directors and Managing Director of the United Iron Manufacturing Company (Kuwait Steel) in the Republic of Algeria, thanked the government and people for the warm reception and generous hospitality, and thanked the Imetal Complex for hosting the work of these meetings.

He indicated in his speech that all of the Union’s efforts are directed towards developing the steel industry and enhancing cooperation and joint Arab action by working to establish partnerships between Arab countries in the steel sector and moving forward with industry requirements and modern technologies.

Mr. Adel Khaman, Vice Chairman of the Federation’s Board of Directors and Director General of the Metal and Steel Industries Complex “Imetal ”, indicated in his speech that the iron and steel sector is one of the structured activities necessary to advance the industrial sector and advance the degree of development and improve economic facilities in the countries of the Federation, given its close connection to many sectors. other economies, and its ability to influence them directly or indirectly.

Mr. Khaman stressed the importance of the role played by the Union – whose headquarters are in Algiers – in achieving integration in the fields of the iron and steel industry and supporting the institutions of member states for the purpose of developing their products and securing their needs for raw materials.

He pointed out that “the sector cannot achieve the desired progress or embody the goals set by the Union, except through close cooperation between the various sectors, and working to embody cooperation and integration in the areas of the iron and steel industry.”

He pointed out the importance of the Union’s meetings, which highlight the ambition to move towards export, search for new investments, enhance research and development, and support internal and external marketing.

Dr. Kamel Djoudi, Secretary-General of the Arab Iron and Steel Union, also presented the Union’s activities between the two sessions, a summary of the final budget for the year 2023, and a summary of the Secretary-General’s report on the most important developments in the steel industry in the Arab region.

He pointed out the excellence of the cumulative steel production rate in the Arab countries during the past 30 years, which amounted to 5.9% compared to the global cumulative growth rate (3.2%). He added, through the report’s statistics, that the utilization of production capacity in the Arab countries was 61%, which is a modest rate compared to the global rate. He called for the necessity of Investing in establishing iron ore pelletizing plants to feed direct reduction plants, starting with a broad approach, developing a road map and short-term goals, studying the transition to green steel, and exploiting the competitive advantage to expand the volume of Arab companies’ exports and entering new markets.

In addition to presenting the follow-up file on the preparations for the 17th Arab Steel Summit – 2024 and the accompanying exhibition, which is scheduled to be held in the State of Qatar from 14 to 15 next October, a summary of the report of the Economic Committee and the Technical Committee of the Union was also presented.

One of the most important decisions was the adoption of the final budget for the year 2023, as well as the acceptance of the Iraqi Iron and Steel Trading Company “Haritan” for membership in the union, in addition to determining the holding of the meetings of the Board of Directors for the 130th session and the 58th General Assembly in May 2025 in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania.