Dubai 2003 to offer special transportation services to delegates attending Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund

The participants will include Heads of States and Prime Ministers, Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors from 184 member states of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, as well as the most leading international financiers and economic experts, journalists from all over the world.

Mr. Abdul Aziz Malik, Media Spokesman for the Dubai 2003 Domestic Transportation Committee and Head of Transport Section at Dubai Municipality said: "We will be providing 250 Audi A8 limousines that are fitted with the latest technology for transporting heads of delegations and VIPs and another 290 brand-new vehicles for transporting the other participants at the Annual Meetings."

He said that the committee, using expertise from Emirates Transport, Dubai Transport and Dubai Municipality has nominated 530 drivers who will drive the Audi cars and other vehicles. A further 370 staff have been given the responsibility of escorting the delegates on their arrival at the Dubai International Airport to their vehicles.

Mr. Malik said: "As one of the partners of Dubai 2003, Audi has provided 250 special A8 limousines that are equipped with state-of-the-art technology. The vehicles come with computer monitors connected to the GPS satellite system and maps that serve as electronic guidance to the streets of Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

"The cars will be shipped to Dubai in the beginning of September and will be made available to the heads of delegations and VIPs 24 hours a day in coordination with the Joint Secretariat of the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund. A partnership agreement between Dubai 2003 and Audi was signed at the Paris Motor Show last September."

He emphasized that drivers from Dubai Transport and other companies have been chosen to drive the powerful Audi limousines after passing several examinations and going through personal interviews covering proficiency in languages, IQ levels, etiquette, and ability to respond quickly to different situations.

A technical team from Audi will be arriving in Dubai in the beginning of September to train the drivers on how to operate and handle the sophisticated equipment in their vehicles in different situations and circumstances.

Mr. Malik said that an advance Audi team arrived in Dubai last month to become familiar with training locations and the highways and streets of Dubai and places and venues connected to the Annual Meetings.

He said that 290 brand-new air conditioned Mercedes and Scania 48-seater buses will be used to transport other participants from the time they arrive in Dubai, during their stay at the hotels and for traveling to and from the Dubai International Convention Centre (DICC), the venue of the Annual Meetings. The bus service will start on September 13 from 7:00am to 11:00pm and run until the end of the event.

He added that Dubai Transport has briefed its team of drivers who will be on duty during the Annual Meetings and trained them be ambassadors for the UAE throughout the duration of the event. All drivers will wear a special uniform and those driving Audi cars will complement it with a jacket.

The waiting area for vehicles next to Dubai International Airport has been completely renovated and given a new-look, and named Station No. 1. An additional waiting area named Station No. 2 has been constructed at the airport for five vehicles.

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.