On Agenda: Dubai: makings of a Brussels in Arabia

That the fabulous success of Dubai in hosting the IMF-World Bank Group annual meetings will draw in more such mega events to the emirate in future is not in doubt. Similarly, the meetings have provided unprecedented exposure to Dubai as a growing global financial centre.

While these are major benefits by themselves, there is more that Dubai can hope to do to build on its success. Apart from being a financial centre like Frankfurt, Zurich or Singapore, Dubai could also become a global city, housing the headquarters of international organisations, or their regional offices — a la Geneva or Brussels of Arabia.

Brussels and Geneva have recorded phenomenal success as global centres and attracted a large number of international organisations, which have set up their headquarters there. The European centres also host a large number of international conferences each year.

Brussels has been particularly successful in this activity. Positioning itself as the centre of Europe, the Belgian capital is the headquarters of European Union, which means that a number of European institutions are based there.

As the seat of the European Economic Community, institutions such as the European Parliament, the Council of European Union, the European Commission, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions function out of Brussels.

Specialised agencies

Other Brussels-based institutions include the General Secretariat of the Benelux Economic Union, Western European Union and Eurocontrol, besides the European offices of a number of UN organisations such as Unesco, WHO, UNDP and the UN High Commission for Refugees.

Similarly, Geneva hosts the European office of the United Nations with 48 specialisedorganisations and agencies, including the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad). Geneva isalso home to the World Trade Organisation (WTO),the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the International Standardisation Organisation (ISO), and the ILO.

Each year Geneva is estimated to host on an average of 8,000 meetings and conferences. Also, more than 30 top multinationals, including Motorola, Reuters, DuPont, Proctor & Gamble, RJ Reynolds, Philip Morris and Nestle have their world or European headquarters in Geneva.

Stamp of approval

Apart from the top class infrastructure, Dubai has many things in common with these cities, including an incredible ethnic mix of the population. In Geneva, for instance, more than 40 per cent of the residents are estimated to be non-Swiss.

Dubai is also emerging as a leading global conference venue, with the annual meetings of the IMF-World Bank Groups having given the stamp of approval for its big-time ambitions. The wholesome praise that Dubai earned during the event, including generous tributes by World Bank President James Wolfensohn and IMF Managing Director Horst Kohler on the emirate's calibre as a conference centre, will not go unnoticed.

A Dubai resident who was heard asking during Dubai 2003 whether the choice of Dubai as the venue for the annual meetings of World Bank and the IMF raised the possibility of World Bank opening a 'branch' in Dubai must be excused for his ignorance about the nature of the global financial body, but the thought is certainly not unnatural.

Given the high approval rate that Dubai and the UAE received at the meetings for the successful economic model followed by the country, it would indeed be appropriate to expect the World Bank to open an office in Dubai. Countries where the World Bank currently has offices include Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon. It is possible to envisage many other such institutions to come.

Dubai could very well position itself as the Middle East headquarters of global institutions. It also offers an incomparable choice for GCC institutions to base their headquarters.

The writer is UAE-based journalist