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Media centre to facilitate event's coverage

Ahmed Al Gaood, Director-General of Dubai Television and Head of the Media Committee for the Annual Meetings, said all media teams will be operating from the state-of-the-art centre.

According to estimates, 30 per cent of the media corps will be from Europe, 30 per cent from the Americas, 30 per cent from Asia and 10 per cent from the Middle East and North Africa region.

Mr Gaood said the Media Committee had been working overtime to facilitate the arrival of media personnel to the UAE, besides providing them best facilities.

The official said that only authorised mediapersons, would be allowed to enter the Dubai International Convention Centre (DICC). He said the registration and permit services for the media were being provided by the General Secretariat of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

The centre has 400 electronic links with the Internet, video editing facilities and studios, main control units to streamline satellite feeds, a transmission centre and ISDN lines, five radio facilities, a radio studio, two halls for interviews, two halls for news conferences, offices and other facilities.

Mr Gaood said systems available at the centre include digital and analogue equipment. The centre has also been provided with plasma screens to enable media people to watch sessions and news conferences.

The Dubai 2003 Organising Committee has urged editors-in-chief of the UAE newspapers to use their media to help enhance the reputation of the country during the meeting.

Qassim Sultan, Head of the committee and Director-General of Dubai Municipality, met the editors last month to brief them on preparations. He stressed that the media can do a magnificent job in projecting the rapid development of the UAE.

Last month, the Dubai 2003 Organising Committee discussed the media plan.

It also examined the media and medical facilities being provided. During the meeting committee members discussed the latest media plans for run up to the Annual Meetings this month. These plans include new TV programmes to educate and inform the local population about the event by Dubai TV, a number of meetings with local and international media and the development of adverts to spread the message about Dubai 2003 and the economic and promotional benefits it can bring across the Arab World.

Committee members also discussed the world-class technical facilities that have now been put in place at the media centre that occupy one of the exhibition halls.

There is a permanent Air Ambulance facility that will be on standby at the DICC during the event.

• UAE