More than 200 delegates from 20 countries are taking part in the first Middle East Chemical Week conference and exhibition which runs until Wednesday.

This is the first time that the annual Petchem Arabia Conference and the Middle East Fertiliser Symposium have come together and the organisers, the World Refining Association, have claimed the move has been a major success.

'In the past, we have run these two events separately in the UAE but this year we decided to hold both at the same event in Bahrain and the feedback has been excellent,' said conference director Dominica Andrews.

'The petrochemical industry and the fertiliser industries are obviously different but they have a lot in common and while they have distinct markets, they are related.

'Bringing the two events to one forum is a move that we intend to continue when we bring this show to Bahrain next year.'

'We have a lot of support from the Oil and Gas Affairs Ministry, from Gulf Petrochemicals Industries Company and Bapco who have laid on visits for the delegates and Bahrain has proved a very good venue,' she said.-TradeArabia News Service