MOSCOW, Feb 19 (Reuters) - The world's top aluminium producer UC RUSAL said on Friday it had agreed to set up a joint body with the new government of Guinea in an apparent attempt to find a solution to a dispute with its predecessor.
On Monday, authorities named a caretaker government to lead the world's biggest exporter of raw material bauxite, to its first election since a 2008 military coup.
RUSAL has been locked in a dispute with the previous government of Guinea over ownership of Friguia alumina refinery, which it said had been bought unlawfully by the company. Alumina is a raw material for aluminium,
"The parties confirmed their strategic partnership and underscored the need to continue the cooperation between RUSAL and Guinea," a RUSAL statement said.
RUSAL and the government of Guinea agreed to establish before March 1 a joint commission "aimed at providing a stable basis for long-term and mutually beneficial cooperation in the country", it said.
"We are pleased to see our relationship with the Guinean state reaching a new, more defined level," said RUSAL's Head of Alumina Division Pavel Ovchinnikov in a separate e-mailed statement.
"RUSAL is committed to continue its operations in Guinea as a long-term and good-faith investor."
RUSAL shares in Hong Kong closed up 0.4 percent at HK$7.50 on Friday. They beat the blue chip Hang Seng Index, which ended down 2.6 percent.
But the stock has fallen 31 percent from its IPO price in less than a month on worries over its debt and uncertainties surrounding its CEO and major shareholder Oleg Deripaska.
(Reporting by Aleksandras Budrys; Editing by Keiron Henderson)
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