For over 125 years now UITP has been advocating for sustainable mobility and better public transport for our cities and urban centres. Efficient public transport means a better quality of life for our citizens and a more sustainable future for all.

The UITP Mobility & City Exhibition supports and empowers this approach and it has established itself as a reference in the world of public transport. This multimodal international meeting is a unique opportunity to nourish ambitions, bring new ideas and materialise new projects.

This is the first time that UITP organises its Mobility & City Exhibition in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The UITP MENA Division was established in 2005 but over this short period the number of projects in the region has grown in an exponential manner.

Dubai was among the first cities of the region to recognise the role public transport plays in the development of urban centres and to embrace a radical mindset shift with the development of an ambitious multimodal system supported by visionary policies.

The conditions are all met to enable operators, organising authorities and public transport industry to showcase their latest innovations, operating skills and solutions. The exhibition will help them to develop business opportunities and fully benefit of the networking facilities offered by UITP in a booming market.

I look forward to you joining us for this key moment for political decision makers and public transport professionals worldwide.

Hans Rat
UITP Secretary Genera

l

Since the initiation of projects such as The Palm, Dubai has become world-renowned as a destination where dreams become built reality. The Emirate is also stepping boldly forward in the transport sector, promoting major projects and realizing new ideas for first-rate infrastructure.

Jebel Ali Airport, for example, has been planned on an unprecedented scale. In the final stage, six parallel runways and gigantic cargo and passenger facilities will provide huge capacities. Several urban developments have been planned adjacent to the airport complex to accommodate business, exhibition and residential needs. Jebel Ali will be a superlative example of inter- modal mobility -a closely-meshed interface of airport and harbor facilities, mass transit systems and motor ways.

Dubai Metro will be the first highly efficient commuter rail system on the Arabian Peninsula. The system, featuring fully automatic driverless trains, enclosed air-conditioned stations and an e-ticketing system, will define a new standard of comprehensive quality in public transport.

In order to cater for this growth, we are committed to developing an extensive and integrated public transport network, not only within Dubai and the UAE, but in the entire MENA region. We thus recognize the importance of this prestigious congress and exhibition and are proud to host the 59th UITP World Congress and Mobility & City Transport Exhibition in 2011.

Matar Al Tayer
Chairman of the Board and Executive Director
RTA, Roads and Transport Authority