fdi Dubai 2007 organising committee focuses on Dubai's role

The four-day Congress, which is being held for the first time in the region, will be organised under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, between October 24 and 27, 2007.

The attendees at the meeting included Dr Ahmed Al Banna, Vice-Chairman of the Organising Committee, Chairman of Hospitality and Media Committee, Dr Tareq Khoury, Chairman of Scientific Committee, Abdul Salam Al Madani, Chairman of Index Holding, Ammar bin Tamim, Director of Dubai Taxi, RTA, Abdullah Tayeb Qassim, General Manager, Venue Management, DICC, Ayman Al Madani, Member of Hospitality and Media Committee, Mahmoud Al Marzouki, Director of Dubai News, Dubai TV, and Nada Al Qassimi, General Coordinator.

The meeting was also attended by Saood Abdul Aziz Kangazar, Manager, Terminal Management, Aviation Unit at Department of Civil Aviation, and Omar Matar from Department of Naturalization and Residency.

The meeting discussed the preparations for the Congress, right from the arrival of the delegates to facilitating their entrance through special gates and dedicated entry visas counters, to their transportation facilities between airport and hotels in VIP buses provided by RTA. The special buses will be used for the first time before being launched for public transport after the Congress. The meeting also discussed the modalities of the opening ceremony, the security procedures as well as the media coverage.

Al Murooshid emphasised the need to add more resources to the teams within the committees to enhance performance, stressing the importance of multiplying efforts to highlight Dubai as an Arab city with international facilities and its abilities to host world-class conferences and exhibitions.

Al Murooshid said: "We want to justify the objective of hosting the Congress, and we are confident that the event is big, but Dubai is bigger. These conferences can take us to wider horizons and we are proud of where Dubai has reached as an international hub in hosting and organising international events of such magnitude. We need to emphasize on this trend and show the world our capabilities."

He added: "The Congress participants are coming from almost all parts of the world, and the majority of them have not visited this region before. Therefore, we have many opportunities to attract more tourists and businessmen if we succeed in showing the real picture of what the UAE has achieved in terms of development, security and progress."

He said: "Dubai and its facilities may be the future choice for participants to establish clinics and hospitals or come back for tourism or residence. This Congress is one the biggest events and has economic dimensions and many medical projects may result from it, which in turn will generate more revenue for the country."

The attendees said that the city is fully prepared to host the event, and decision-makers from all committees will be available at all the venues to facilitate arrival, departure, registration and other needs of the delegates.

fdi Dubai 2007 will be held at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. It is worth mentioning that more than 1 million dentists are registered with fdi globally and of which, more than 100,000 are from Middle Eastern and North African countries.