Dubai 2003 General Coordinator meets Swiss Finance Minister in Davos

Mr. Villiger, who has twice been President of Switzerland, is scheduled to be the Chairman of the Annual Meetings being held in Dubai in September 2003. Last year in Washington DC, the honour went to the National Economy Minister of Oman, Mr Ahmed Makki.

During the meeting the Finance Minister told Mr. Belselah that he would visit Dubai with colleagues in the coming months to finalise arrangements for his role as Chairman and discuss preparations with the Dubai 2003 team.

The Swiss delegation will also organise a number of major events while chairing the meetings and the meeting in Davos gave Mr. Villiger and Mr. Belselah the opportunity to discuss the status of these events.

Mr. Belselah said: "Davos was the ideal location to give me the opportunity to meet with Mr. Villiger and discuss in more detail arrangements for the Annual Meetings in September where he will Chair this prestigious international gathering of the world's financial and business leaders.

"Mr. Villiger said that he and his colleagues were looking forward to playing a significant role in helping Dubai 2003, the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund to ensure the success of the first ever Annual Meetings to be held in an Arab City."

Mr. Villiger told Mr Belselah that the participation of Switzerland in the meetings will be very high profile as it is expected that the Swiss delegation will include a significant number of senior financial and business leaders in addition to the official delegation. He also added that Switzerland would organise many activities on all levels during the meetings.

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.