UAE Immigration officers to offer speed and courtesy to the 14,000 plus participants arriving for the Annual Meetings of the World Bank and IMF

Immigration officials handling the arrival of participants at the Annual Meetings are also to be given training to help them assume the role of "Ambassadors" for the UAE when welcoming the arrivals from 184 countries for the event in September.

The Director-General of the Department of Residence and Naturalisation at the Ministry of the Interior, Major Hadher Khalaf Al Muhairy, outlined the plans during a meeting with officials from his department to plan the implementation of efficient entry procedures for everyone attending the Annual Meetings.

"The interaction with our staff will be the first encounter with the UAE for thousands of people attending the Annual Meetings so we have a vital role to play in ensuring our visitors receive a positive perception of our country and its people.

"We will be training our staff to ensure that visa processing is done both promptly and with courtesy as the estimated 14,000 plus participants arrive from all over the world," explained the Director General.

He added that a special Dubai 2003 visa form has been created for the participants coming to the UAE for the Annual Meetings to help ensure the fastest processing of visitors on arrival to the country.

"The training will apply to all our staff working in airports, land borders and ports in the UAE ensuring the correct balance between security and speed to welcome our visitors to this global event that is being held in an Arab city for the very first time," added Major Al Muhairy.

Major Jasim Abdul Ghafoor, a member of the Dubai 2003 Administrative Services and Public Relations Committee, said that Dubai 2003 was also providing facilities within the airports to ensure the quickest possible entry to the country.

The senior staff attending the meeting were also given a tour of the facilities at the Dubai International Convention Centre that will host the event in September.

The Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund were first held in Washington DC in 1946. They are hosted by an international city one year in three. The UAE and Dubai were selected because of their highly developed transportation and logistics infrastructure, growing importance as a financial hub and its established position as an oasis of opportunity.