|
January - March 2002 |
H.M. King Mohammed VI of Morocco visited the city center, as well as Jordanian prime minister Ali Abou Ragheb, and H.H. Sheikh Maktoum bin Rached al Maktoum, UAE deputy head of state and prime minister and ruler of Dubai.
Official visitors also included:
Romanian house speaker Valer Dorneanu; British Lord Newall; a US Congressional delegation headed by Richard Gephardt; 10 members of the Czech parliament; Saudi ministry of telecommunications director Abdel Aziz al Dawahily at the head of a delegation. From the business world came:
Galeries Lafayette general manager Joel Mornet; Porsche Middle East manager Mark Bishop; Roche Pharmaceuticals Middle East general manager Ekkheard L. Betsch; Grohe (Germany) chairman-general manager Peter Korfer-Schun heading a delegation of 70; investors from Gulf Finance House and the Islamic Bank of Qatar; investors from Saudi Arabia and Qatar; manager of Arab Investment Company Fahed el-Ahmad; 15 executives from UAE
Visitors also included: journalists from Zeitenspiegel (Germany); a delegation of 30 journalists; 25 graduates from MIT (USA) representing US and Arab firms; 15 members of the Egyptian-Lebanese businessmen's association; 10 members of the Tunisia Lions Club; professors from Purdue university (USA); 24 students from the Ecole Polytechnique in Paris; students from a number of Lebanese universities and schools.
Arab
Summit
The
city
center
was
involved
in
the
Arab
Summit
held
on
March
27
and
28,
with
the
new
waterfront
exhibition
center
used
as
the
press
headquarters
and
Monroe
Hotel
hosting
some
delegations.
During
their
stay,
many
Arab
leaders
and
delegates
took
the
opportunity
to
visit
the
city
center.
They
remarked
on
how
beautiful
and
vibrant
Beirut
downtown
had
become,
and
praised
the
work
of
SOLIDERE
for
the
remarkable
architecture,
landscaping
and
open
spaces
of
the
city
center.
Beirut
city
center
in
the
world
In
New
York
Beirut
is
part
of
the
exhibition
organized
by
the
Van
Alen
Institute
in
New
York
under
the
theme
‘Renewing,
Rebuilding,
Remembering’.
The
exhibition,
which
runs
through
April,
features
seven
cities
that
have
been
rebuilt
in
the
wake
of
disasters.
The
other
cities
are:
Berlin,
Germany;
Oklahoma
City,
USA;
San
Francisco,
USA;
Kobe,
Japan;
Sarajevo,
Bosnia-Herzegovina;
and
Manchester,
England.
The
Beirut
section
includes
the
city
center
master
plan,
Kathryn
Gustafson's
concept
design
for
the
Garden
of
Forgiveness,
and
Nadim
Karam’s
‘Archaic
Procession’
sculptures.
Stamp
of
honor
The
city
center’s
UN
House,
headquarters
of
the
Economic
and
Social
Commission
for
Western
Asia
(ESCWA)
and
other
UN
agencies,
will
figure
on
a
postage
stamp
issued
by
the
Lebanese
postal
authorities.
The
limited
edition
of
100,000
stamps
marks
the
25th
anniversary
of
ESCWA.