International Monetary Fund Managing Director Horst Köhler to visit UAE to review arrangements for Annual Meetings of World Bank Group and IMF

Announcing the visit, Dubai 2003 General Coordinator, Mr. Ibrahim Belselah, said: "Mr. Köhler's visit is his first to Dubai as Managing Director of the IMF, whose Board of Governors is jointly meeting this year in Dubai with that of the World Bank. This will also be the first Annual Meeting of these key international financial institutions in the Middle East.

"So this is an important pre-Meeting visit by the Managing Director. I look forward to discussing the status of preparations with him."

Mr. Köhler will be joined by Shakour Shaalan, who represents the UAE on the IMF's 24-member Executive Board, and George Abed, the Director of the Fund's Middle Eastern Department.

During the visit Mr. Köhler will meet senior UAE Government, finance and business officials including His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Emirates Group and of Dubai World Trade Centre, His Excellency Dr. Mohammed Khalfan bin Khirbash, Minister of State for Finance and Industry and His Excellency Mr. Sultan bin Nasser Al Suwaidi, Governor of the UAE Central Bank.

Mr. Köhler, who will be visiting Dubai after attending the Group of Eight Summit in Evian, France, is also the chairman of the Executive Board of the IMF, an 184-member multilateral financial institution created nearly 60 years ago to promote and support policies aimed at creating sustainable global growth.

As part of its global mandate, the IMF works closely with its sister institution, the World Bank, to promote development in the poorest countries, and a reduction of poverty worldwide. For nations that do not require financial assistance, the IMF is active in providing training and other technical assistance to enable countries to better manage their fiscal and monetary policies.