A senior policeman has praised the achievements of volunteers who helped ensure the smooth running of Dubai 2003.

Speaking during a press conference at the Dubai Police headquarters yesterday, Major Gen Dahi Khalfan Tamim, Dubai Police Chief and head of the Security Commitee of the conference, spoke of his pride at seeing people work hard towards a common goal.

The police and the armed forces were said to have cooperated closely to make the event a success.

Major Gen Dhahi made the comments while hailing the achievements of the security committee which successfully handled the world financial meetings.


Maj Gen Dhahi Khalfan shares the success of Dubai 2003 with top police officers yesterday. ©Gulf News
"During the event, I saw many volunteers from different departments and ministries in Dubai who had taken the initiative and decided to work and help the delegates for no returns," the Dubai Police Chief said.

"These volunteers worked daily for 12 hours with a smile on their faces to help the delegates and participants. It really made me proud."

He said that he had held back from speaking to the press prior to the event as he preferred to wait until all the committee's goals had been achieved.

"Now that it has all been handled successfully, we can show the extent of our hard work and preparations to the public. After ensuring the safety and security of the delegates, I can announce that I am very proud of what we did," he said.

Committed work

He added that the main reason behind the success of the event is that committee members heeded the advice of President His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and learnt from his spirit of teamwork and cooperation.

"Security is the foundation of development and prospects of any country. We were keen to implement the best security measures for the safety of our delegates.

"When comparing our preparations to the other countries where the meetings were held before, we can confidently say that this year was the best in terms of preparation in the history of the IMF and World Bank Group meetings. This is what we have been told by the delegates and Chief of the World Bank Group."


Conference over, the minor restrictions on Sheikh Zayed Road are lifted off. ©Gulf News
The police chief added that they had guidelines and were encouraged by General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, UAE Defence Minister and President of Dubai Police to make the event successful.

The committee's strategic targets were to:
* Ensure safety and security for the delegates;
* Deal with the event as a country, rather than simply the emirate of Dubai alone;
* Highlight the spirit of cooperation among the different emirates and authorities to make the event successful;
* Deal effectively with the delegates and behave with respect and capability;
* Implement the highest international standards of security;
* And simply to make the event a success.

Road re-opened

"In addition to the help received from the Ministry of Interior, Sheikh Saif bin Zayed opened channels of Abu Dhabi Police to support the Dubai Police committee in running the event.

"He has also assigned financial support for the organising committee which we did not spend as there was no need for it. But nonetheless this initiative made us very grateful for his support," he said.

Maj Gen Dhahi stressed that the job was very big, and that it took a long time to prepare for it.

Meanwhile, Sheikh Zayed Road was re-opened yesterday after the completion of the global financial meetings.