Joint Secretariat start with visit to Dubai International Convention Centre

The Joint Secretariat delegation were given a tour of the new Dubai International Convention Centre that will host the Annual Meetings on 23 and 24 September by senior representatives of Dubai 2003 led by General Coordinator Mr. Ibrahim Belselah.

In total 19 representatives from the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund are in Dubai for the next 12 days to visit conference venues and hotels, meet with Dubai 2003 staff and members of the organizing and other committees responsible for the success of the meetings.

Dubai 2003 General Coordinator, Mr. Ibrahim Belselah, said: "We are delighted to be hosting this mission from the Joint Secretariat of the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund. We are now just under nine months away from the Annual Meetings and this is the perfect opportunity for the Dubai 2003 team to meet and establish closer working relationships with their colleagues from the Joint Secretariat.

"The expertise and experience of the Head of the Mission, Ms. Patricia Davies, and her team will, I am sure, prove invaluable to us over the coming weeks as we continue with the highly complex and detailed arrangements required to host an event of this scale and international importance."

Members of the Mission will examine every aspect of the preparations for the Annual Meetings from the Convention Centre to hotel accommodation, airport facilities, simultaneous interpretation, requirements and equipment, banqueting, programme of seminars, temporary office accommodation, transportation and security issues.

Joint Secretariat Head of Mission, Ms. Patricia Davies, Assistant Secretary for Conferences, World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund, said: "Our team has already been impressed with what we have seen during our first day including a visit to the Convention Centre that is a truly world class facility.

"The welcome and hospitality offered to us by the Dubai 2003 team has been magnificent and we are looking forward to further developing and enhancing our existing working relationship with Mr. Belselah and his team during our visit.

"We have every confidence that Dubai and the United Arab Emirates will provide the 58th Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund with the infrastructure and support we need to host a superb event in September 2003."

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

ENDS