United Arab Emirates, 20 July 2023: Emirates Global Aluminium, the largest industrial company in the United Arab Emirates outside oil and gas, and ITOCHU Corporation of Japan, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to cooperate on aluminium production growth, decarbonisation and the development of UAE industries in EGA’s supply chain.

The agreement was signed at the Japan-UAE Business Forum in Abu Dhabi, witnessed by His Highness Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed, member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, and Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

EGA’s relationship with ITOCHU stretches back to the 1980s, with the Japanese company marketing EGA’s metal to customers in Japan and Japanese companies’ operations abroad.

The new agreement builds on a MoU signed late last year in Tokyo to leverage both companies industrial capabilities in opportunities that complement EGA’s existing operations in the UAE.

Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Global Aluminium, said: “EGA and ITOCHU have worked together for decades, and our partnership has been an important part of the trade relationship between the UAE and Japan. We look forward to expanding this partnership further, to the benefit of our companies and both nations.”

Keita Ishii, President and Chief Operating Officer of ITOCHU Corporation, said: “The commercial relationship between ITOCHU and the UAE is amongst the most significant our two nations share. Our goal now is to deepen our work together to help meet the growing demand for aluminium over the decades ahead.”