Mr Belselah meets senior German Government officials and banking leaders

The meetings coincide with the major presence that Dubai 2003 has taken at the ITB travel exhibition in Berlin including having a giant promotional poster displayed over the entrance to the exhibition.

Mr. Belselah's first meeting was with Dr. Rolf Wenzel, Deputy Director General for International Financial and Monetary Policies at the German Federal Ministry of Finance. He briefed Dr Wenzel on the preparations being made by the UAE to host the event and the status of accommodation, transportation, social and cultural arrangements. Security matters were discussed along with the special ties between the UAE and German Federal Republic.

Dr Wenzel said that he and his colleagues were looking forward to traveling to Dubai to fully participate in the Annual Meetings in September.

In a second meeting Mr. Belselah and the Head of the Economic Section of the UAE Embassy in Berlin, Dr. Mohamad Al Fakhri met with senior officials of the German Central Bank - the Bundesbank, Dr Rainer Naser, Deputy of the Industrial Division in Berlin and Mr. Stefan Schonberg, Head of the Main Department for International Relations at the Bank's Frankfurt office.

The meeting included discussion of bilateral relations between Germany and the UAE and how the tax-free environment of the UAE can benefit foreign investors and expatriates.

Mr. Schonberg said: "We are delighted to be attending the 58th Annual Meetings in Dubai and we are certain that the UAE will be an excellent host to this massive congress."

The UAE Ambassador to Germany, His Excellency Mr. Ali Mohammed Al Zarouni, has hosted the Dubai 2003 and assisted in arranging meetings. The Ambassador and Mr. Belselah will co-host a media briefing and reception at the UAE Embassy in Berlin on Sunday 9 March.

Mr. Al Zarouni said: "We are delighted to have been able to offer our support to Mr. Belselah and the Dubai 2003 team. The Annual Meetings will help to raise the business profile of the UAE throughout the world and the Embassy staff here have welcomed the opportunity to use the visit to strengthen tied between the UAE and Germany."

Commenting on the meetings, Mr. Ibrahim Belselah said: "These have been very positive and useful meetings that have helped strengthen links with the German Government and Bundesbank in advance of the Annual Meetings.

"Dubai is now an international hub for a market of approximately 1.6 billion people making the UAE the ideal location for international investors seeking access to this massive market."

In addition to its high profile presence in Germany at the ITB in Berlin, Dubai 2003 has also taken out a number of advertisements in leading German newspapers including Handesblatt.

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