Emirates Global Aluminum (EGA) and ITOCHU Corporation of Japan, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in order to cooperate on aluminum production growth, decarbonization, 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, a member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, and Japan’s Prime Minister Mr. 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, as per the statement.

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

Mr. Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Global Aluminum, said that, “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.”

“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 aluminum over the decades ahead,” commented Mr. Keita Ishii, President and Chief Operating Officer of ITOCHU Corporation.

Earlier this year, Emirates Global Aluminum signed agreements that could lead to more than $272 million (AED 1 billion) of industrial investments in the UAE at the Make it in the Emirates Forum.