Dubai Municipality delegation attends UITP Moscow meeting

The Dubai Municipality delegation led by Mr. Obeid Salem Al Shamsi, Assistant Director General for Administrative and General Services Affairs also included Mr. Abdul Aziz Malik, Director, Public Transport Department and Ahmed Mohammed Al Hammadi, Head of Abra Services Unit.

Mr. Al Shamsi said the meeting discussed a number of issues related to public transport and took many important decisions including that of selecting Dubai as the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Regional Office of UITP.

He said that all members of the UITP Administrative Council were unanimous in selecting Dubai as MENA regional centre because of the name and fame earned by the city in the international arena.

Mr. Al Shamsi noted that the council members were impressed with Dubai's proven ability to organize a good number of work shops, conferences and seminars, in addition to its fruitful efforts through the Organizing Committee for setting up the MENA Regional Office of UITP.

He said that many countries are now rushing to participate and open up channels of communication with the UITP member countries.

Mr. Al Shamsi hoped that Dubai would be a vital centre that will support the activities of the UITP, which has 2,800 members representing 80 countries around the world. The organization has under its umbrella, different people including manufacturers, operators, law makers, universities, institutes and consultants in the field of public transport.

Dubai among finalists for hosting 58th UITP Congress:

Mr. Al Shamsi said that among the important decisions taken in the meeting include qualifying Dubai city for the final clearance to be selected for hosting the 58th Congress of UITP and accompanying exhibition in 2009.

"Since many cities including Sydney, Melbourne, Geneva, Brussels, Leon, Vienna, Singapore and Poland, had vied for this opportunity, there was stiff competition. Each of these cities had fulfilled the requirements of UITP for hosting the event," said Al Shamsi.

"After long discussions, presentations and deliberations, it was decided to qualify Dubai, Vienna, Leon and Brussels as final contestants. The final selection will be done in April 2005 in Berlin, where all the qualified cities will submit their nominations to the Executive Council of UITP for hosting the event," he said.

The event is held every two years and the city of Rome is hosting the 56th Congress of UITP in 2005. The 57th Congress would be hosted by Helsinki in 2007.

Mr. Al Shamsi said that the participants of the Administrative Council meeting were briefed about the ongoing preparations by Dubai for hosting the first MENA Regional Forum for Public Transport Industry, which will be held during 15-17 January 2005. "We have received a good appreciation about our preparations as many people concerned with the Public Transport field have come forward to participate in the event," he said.

Mr. Abdul Aziz Malik, who is also Head of the Organizing Committee for setting up the MENA Regional Office of UITP, presented a paper titled "Need for a MENA Regional Office of UITP" in the Administrative Council meeting in Moscow.

He dealt in detail the ongoing efforts and preparations for setting up the office. The participants of the meeting praised Dubai officials for their best efforts and also the future plans for activating the role of the regional office that would go along with the strategic objectives of UITP.

Mr. Al Shamsi said the Dubai delegation also met the Head of Moscow Metro Transport Authority, who praised the infrastructure development accomplished by the city of Dubai, in general and the achievements of the Public Transport Department in particular. Both the parties discussed opening up new horizons of co-operation and communication in order to exchange expertise and knowledge.

In addition to this, the delegation also met with a number of important people in the field of Public Transport such as law makers, operators and manufacturers.

Mr. Al Shamsi said the UAE Embassy in Moscow had done good ground work for the successful participation of Dubai in the meeting.