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Dubai 2003 team's German visit a major success: envoy

The Ambassador and his staff were instrumental in helping to set up a number of high-level meetings for Dubai 2003 General Coordinator, Ibrahim Belselah, with senior German government and banking officials during his five-day visit to Berlin.

Dubai 2003 also participated with the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) at ITB in Berlin, the world's leading tourism event, including the positioning of a giant promotional poster for the event at the entrance of the exhibition.

"We were delighted to help the Dubai 2003 delegation and host a Press conference and reception with them here in Berlin. The 58th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund represent a superb opportunity to promote the UAE and its economic and investment prospects to the whole world," Mr Al Zarouni said.

He added that for Germany, the UAE remains one of its most important trading markets in the Arab world - third in volume to Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

Visitor numbers from Germany to the UAE leapt from under 20,000 in 1991 to nearly 200,000 in 2002 given the world-class facilities and attractions offered by the UAE.

During the visit, Mr Belselah met representatives of the German Federal Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the President of the Berlin Office of the German Central Bank, the Deutsche Bundesbank and a number of other leading German banking institutions.

Mr Belselah was able to give an update on the progress of the preparations for the first-ever hosting of the World Bank and IMF Annual Meetings by an Arab city, as the countdown for the event is now less than 200 days. He also made a presentation to the 5th German-Arab Tourism Forum that was held in Berlin.

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