Bahrain is becoming an attractive destination for international conferences, a Bahraini minister said last night.

The Bahrain government welcomes and encourages through innovative and progressive means all investment initiatives that seek to deliver mutually-beneficial outcomes, said Oil and Gas Affairs Minister Dr Abdulhussain Mirza, said a report in our sister publication, the Gulf Daily News.

He was speaking at the opening of a four-day conference entitled, Advances in Materials and Processing Technologies (AMPT) 2008, at the Gulf Hotel's Gulf International Convention Centre.

Nearly 800 delegates from across the globe are taking part in the conference and exhibition, organised by the Bahrain Society of Engineers (BSE), under the patronage of Dr Mirza.

'There is no doubt that hosting such a high-profile event represents worldwide recognition and confirmation of Bahrain's privileged position as not only a major financial Middle Eastern hub but also as an attractive destination for investors,' said Dr Mirza.

'The event is concerned with expertise that operates day in and day out with little fanfare, but which is vital to the proper functioning of all major international industries and therefore underpin the global economy.

'Being held for the first time in Bahrain since its inception in 1993 in Ireland's Dublin City University, the conference will strengthen and enhance the kingdom's image as one of the leaders of the convention industry in the Middle East.

'This is because of its ever-expanding role in organising and hosting the most highly-specialised and sophisticated conferences and internationally renowned events, such as this one, which has previously been hosted in such famous centres as Portugal, Malaysia, Spain, Poland, the US and South Korea.'

Since its inception, this conference has gained wide-spread international recognition as a major international event through which the latest advances in materials and processing technologies, have been introduced and demonstrated to the world, said Dr Mirza.

'Furthermore, this is a conference that is attended by the heavy weights from these industries; academics, researchers and engineers from numerous countries spanning a wide spectrum of the globe, such as Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Iran, Turkey, Bulgaria, Poland, Russia, France, Italy, Spain, Ireland, UK, US, Brazil, Canada, China, South Korea, Taiwan, India, Malaysia, Syria, Jordan and Egypt,' he revealed.

'The panel of experts will be presenting 320 working papers.

'The conference therefore provides a unique opportunity for all participants, industrial leaders, specialised engineers and renowned academics, to review and discuss their challenges, interests, latest developments and current needs across a very broad range of topics from the more traditional areas of metals and ceramics through to space age polymers and fibres.'

Dr Mirza said the National Oil and Gas Authority has devoted huge effort since its incorporation in September 2005, to promoting a major development programme costing billions of dollars, in both upstream and downstream activities of the sector.

'In particular, we are proud of the modernisation and upgrading programme for the Bahrain Refinery, the further major development of Bahrain's onshore oilfield to maintain and substantially increase its production capacity and the launch and award of new exploration campaigns in the offshore territorial boundaries of Bahrain,' he said.

This is the first time an AMPT conference is being held in Bahrain, said BSE president Majeed Al Gassab.

Advanced materials and manufacturing requires critical focus for research in the academia and the industry, said Saudi Aramco Industrial Services vice-president Amer Al Sulaim, the lead organiser of the event.

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