Dubai 2003 Committees go into final rehearsal phase to test equipment & personnel

All the equipment necessary to assist in the hosting of the Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has been installed and is now being tested to ensure maximum operational efficiency during the event, said Qassim Sultan, Head of the Organising Committee and Director General of Dubai Municipality.

Chairing the Dubai 2003 Organising Committee weekly meeting on the 27th of August with just 27 days to go to the Annual Meetings, Sultan said: "The training of personnel has been completed and they are now being deployed in real situations to test their state of readiness."

The Organising Committee will also meet next week to follow-up on the preparations and to attend the rehearsal of the opening ceremony of the Annual Meetings.

The committee members discussed details of the programme prepared to receive official and private sector delegations. It also went over preparations undertaken by the Media
Committee at the Dubai International Convention Centre to assist the local, regional and international TV channels to cover the Annual Meetings.

Details about the Help Desks that are being set up were also discussed. These will be manned by World Bank Group and IMF Joint Secretariat and personnel from various Dubai 2003 committees, and staff will be trained to handle queries from the participants.

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.