Ayman Eltalouny, Programme Officer of the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Regional Office for West Asia and James Walters, Vice President for International Affairs, Air-conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) outlined the different events that led to the formation of the association. Here is what they said:

• The attempt to form an association was made in the 1990s.
• On May 2012, UNEP and AHRI held a side meeting in Kuwait with industry representatives to test the idea of organising an industry association.
• On September 2012, UNEP and AHRI made a joint visit to major local manufacturers in Bahrain, KSA and UAE, which showed unanimous support for the initiative.
• The first meeting was held on October 16, 2012 to continue discussions with local and global equipment manufacturers. In the said meeting, the purpose, the scope and the coverage of the association was defined.
• On December 19, 2012, a meeting was held in Bahrain to discuss the legal structure and the proposed bylaws of the industry association
• On February 10, 2013, another meeting was held in Riyadh to deliberate on the reports by the sub-committees on the legal structure and on the name of the association.
• On June 9, 2013, the last meeting prior to the launch was reportedly held in Manama, Bahrain to agree on the location, name and bylaws of the association. The sub-committees were also tasked to prepare the budget.