Hand-sculpted aluminium dhows to be presented to Dubai 2003 delegates

A total of 6500 hand-sculpted aluminium dhows are to be presented to the delegates of Dubai 2003, in a collaboration between the Middle East-based Jashanmal Group and Inkerman, the London-based corporate gift company.

The contemporary aluminium dhows were supplied to Dubai 2003 to reflect the heritage and importance of the event.

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Bharat Jashanmal, director of the Jashanmal Group, said: “The original idea for the gift was considered a year ago, after discussions between our partners and ourselves, and presented to the Dubai 2003 board in 2002.

“The logistics of the creation of the gifts was a task in itself: each boat took nine days to complete before being engraved, wrapped and delivered.

“In the days of standard corporate gifts we felt that these carefully chosen, contemporary dhows represent the tradition and heritage of Dubai, yet are very much part of the 21st century.”

Gangu Batra, CEO of the Jashanmal Group, pointed out that this was the latest in a long working relationship with the government of Dubai.

He said: “We are proud to be associated with Dubai 2003, and hope that we have created a memento for the delegates that sums up their time here for the Annual Meetings.”

The nine-day process for each dhow started with a hand-sculpted mould, into which was poured aluminium. The boats were then hand-polished, before being laser engraved with the Dubai 2003 logo, and wrapped in custom-designed packaging.

The gifts will be presented to the 6,500 delegates of the Annual Meetings of the World Bank and IMF, which will be held in Dubai on September 23 and 24 – the first time the meetings have been held in the Arab world.