Dubai 2003 launches 100 day countdown

Senior government officials from the Dubai 2003 organising committee will be on hand to brief up to 200 journalists from the world on issues relating to the Annual Meetings of the Joint Secretariat of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in September. These Annual Meetings are being held in an Arab nation for the first time in history.

Ibrahim Belselah, General Coordinator of Dubai 2003, said: "This event will underline the UAE's readiness to host this prestigious event and highlights the wealth of benefits this opportunity is generating for the UAE as host, and the Middle East region.

"As well as being a full and frank forum for discussion, this is a great opportunity for us to market Dubai, the UAE and the Arab World to global media institutions."

This year, the Annual Meetings will be held on September 23 and 24, and the overall event will be held from September 18 to 25, 2003.

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