Nearly 16,000 in Dubai to participate in Annual Meetings

Many delegations flew straight to Dubai from the recent World Trade Organisation event in Cancun, Mexico, to participate in the Annual Meetings, being held in an Arab country for the first time.

In the city are nearly 3,000 officially accredited members of delegations from the 184 members of the World Bank and IMF, 1250 journalists, over 1200 accredited visitors from the public and private sector and thousands of others from the World Bank, IMF and other international organisations participating in the event.

Of the 18,667 people who have registered, a total of 15,340 participants have actually collected their accreditation to participate in an event that has been described by the Head of the Dubai 2003 Organising Committee Qassim Sultan as the "Financial Olympics". Of the total participants, 3,804 come from the Middle East and North African countries other than the United Arab Emirates.

Dubai 2003 General Coordinator, Ibrahim Belselah said: "We are delighted with the number of participants who have travelled from around the world to take part in this year's Annual Meetings, and the numbers are on target with our initial expectations."

"We have received feedback that the participants have been enjoying traditional Arab hospitality as well as, the world-class convention facilities that are in place to host this international event. The number of people here demonstrates the success of the event and we are proud to have had the opportunity to showcase our country and our region to the world."

He added that the response from delegates has been unanimously positive with praise heaped on the organisers and the smooth running of the event, with hundreds of delegates impressed with their first ever visit to the Arab World.

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.