MANAMA — The Gulf Downstream Association (GDA) announced the successful conclusion of its first Board of Directors Meeting of 2020 virtually followed by the Annual General Assembly Meeting also held virtually on the same day. Presided over by Suleman A. Al-Bargan, chairman of the association, (vice president domestic refining & NGL fractionation — Saudi Aramco), the assembly was attended by senior representatives of GDA member companies, who gathered to review activities of the past year and the association’s strategy for the year ahead. Eng. Audah Al Ahmadi, secretary general of GDA, discussed the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on GDA’s operations and actions taken to cope with it. He presented the 2019 Achievements and Way Forward Plan. Additionally, the audited financial statement of 2019 and the appointment of the external auditor for 2020 were approved by the members. Finally, the current Board of Directors were re-appointed by the Annual General Assembly for the next two years. Eng. Al Ahmadi said, “Despite the current challenges, GDA continues to work towards meeting our mission of driving further development of the region’s downstream industries through greater collaboration between our members and other key players in the industry both in the Middle East and around the world. “In 2019, we successfully increased our membership by 87% and had a 100% membership retention rate. Currently, we are in the process of developing various new services for our members on virtual platforms. We look forward to leveraging the many resources we have developed, both real and virtual, to support our members and to keep building on the momentum we have achieved since our establishment in 2016.” — SG