FROM HIS OFFICE high above Dubai Creek, Ibrahim Belsalah exudes an
air of confidence that everything will be ready on time for the
IMF/World Bank meetings in September 2003 when 14,000 politicians,
bankers and journalists will descend on the emirate.
Belsalah, the general coordinator of Dubai 2003, faces a daunting
logistical challenge in preparing the city state, which 30 years
ago was little more than a village at the southern end of the Gulf.
For Dubai will not just be hosting a meeting in September 2003 but
presenting its political and economic philosophy to the outside
world. Visitors to the next IMF/World Bank meetings will find a
state that has not only been physically transformed into a modern
city but is also intellectually committed to the values of western
capitalism.
Hosting the meetings is seen as an opportunity for the government
to present and promote Dubai, one...
