Organising Committee members commence fact-finding visits throughout the city to check status of preparations for Annual Meetings

The first visit has already been made to Dubai International Airport to allow the committee members to see how the thousands of international participants from 184 countries will be welcomed to the United Arab Emirates.

Organising Committee Chairman, Mr. Qassim Sultan, said: "With just a few days to the start of the event it is important for all of us to get out and about in Dubai to find out how preparations are going on the ground and give our support to the hard working teams now preparing the city for this magnificent international event."

Dubai 2003 has developed a comprehensive plan to ensure it offers the very best Arabic hospitality and traditional welcome to the participants from around the world. This includes the recruitment of over 1200 special staff to "meet and greet" participants at the airport, hotels and other locations across the city.

Rashid Al Noori, Head of the International Transport and Freight Committee, told fellow committee members during the twice weekly Organising Committee meeting that training has now commenced of the 1200 staff, over half of whom are Emirati nationals.

Information booklets have been distributed and training will continue for some days to give the specially selected staff the skills and confidence they need to work with visitors from so many different nations.

Additionally 650 drivers have now been recruited by the Local Transportation Committee and have been trained to transport participants during the meetings.

To keep the Organising Committee fully up to date on every development, Heads of the Special Purpose Committee are now making regular presentations about their responsibilities to other members at the twice-weekly meetings.

Committee members also heard that representatives from other Gulf countries were planning to visit Dubai in advance of the Annual Meetings to examine the preparations and techniques that have been undertaken to organise a global event on this scale.

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.