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Dubai 2003 preparations ahead of schedule

Reviewing progress of the work undertaken by different committees in the run up to the Annual Meetings, Shaikh Hamdan said the accomplishments already achieved demonstrated the confidence and ability of the UAE to host an international conference of this scale that will have enormous international impact. "The UAE is proud and honoured to be the first Arab country to host this event," he said.

Shaikh Hamdan appealed to the local media to come forward to showcase the professionalism of the UAE's media to the outside world and outshine the coverage of international media giants who will converge on the UAE for the event. He was briefed by members of the Dubai 2003 Steering Committee on the wide-ranging activities of various panels and their progress to date in meeting the challenging requirements of the Dubai 2003 secretariat.

Shaikh Hamdan also gave necessary instructions to complete all preparations for the conference in the most effective manner and portray a truly modern and progressive image of the country. The venue for the Annual Meetings, the Dubai International Convention Centre, is now fully operational to meet the demands of the estimated 16,000-plus participants of the event.

Heads of the various Dubai 2003 specialist committees also made presentations on wide-ranging facilities that would be available to delegates, members of the media and other participants.

Qassim Sultan, Director-General of Dubai Municipality and Head of the Dubai 2003 Organising Committee, said the following days should see more local media attention on the event to familiarise residents of the UAE with the significance of the event and the role played by the World Bank and IMF in the world.

The Domestic Transportation Committee reported that it had already completed 80 per cent of the arrangements for the conference and, by the end of August, 95 per cent of the preparations would be over.

The Public Relations Committee said that it had already made the basic preparations for receiving, hosting, and seeing off delegations in coordination with the country's airports. An image of the specially created entry visa to be issued to the delegates has been uploaded on the web site of Dubai 2003.

Security arrangements for the conference were also reviewed.

The Annual Meetings will also enjoy one of the highest quality and highly sophisticated telecommunication networks in terms of the equipment to be used and the speed with which communication will take place, as well as the cost.

A state of the art media centre, covering 3,600 square metres, has been established for the international news corps inside the Convention Centre. It includes areas for Press conferences for up to 225 journalists, 400 workstations, editorial offices and production studios for local, regional and international broadcasters. A smaller Press conference room will accommodate up to 75 seats.

The Steering Committee also reviewed the progress made in the field of marketing of the conference.

The Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund were first held in Washington DC in 1946. They are hosted by an international city one year in three. The UAE and Dubai were selected because of their highly developed transportation and logistics infrastructure, growing importance as a financial hub and its established position as an oasis of opportunity.

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