Lt. Gen. Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, witnessed the strategic exercise "Sadeem" in the presence of HE Reem Bint Ibrahim Al Hashemi, Minister of State for International Cooperation and Director General of the Expo 2020 Dubai Office. The exercise was carried out by the Dubai Police General HQs and the Expo 2020 Dubai Office and their strategic partners on Monday afternoon at the Expo site and Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai.
Sheikh Seif was briefed on the operations and procedures put in place for dealing with various scenarios, as well as the speed of response to emergency incidents by all field and administrative teams. He also reviewed the mechanism used to have a comprehensive evaluation of the various stages of the exercise and how they are handled, and the results achieved until the various operations are carried out.
He then visited the Joint Operations Room at Expo 2020 Dubai Office and listened to a detailed explanation about the overall operations and joint efforts of the work teams and the results of the strategic exercise and evaluation findings. He also made a visit to the Volunteer Center where trainings to all volunteers wishing to be part of the Expo 2020 Dubai event are provided.
Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan expressed his gratitude and appreciation to all participants, wishing that they benefit from the exercise to enhance readiness, raise the performance level of the teams participating in the exercise, to professionally deal with emergency incidents.
The Minister of Interior praised the efforts of the participants in the exercise, including all civil, security, military and service authorities, and urged them to step up efforts to enhance the security and safety, and provide protection and safety for all visitors during this international event.
The exercise comes as part of the preparations that are well under way to host the international event "Expo 2020 Dubai" and aims to maximize the level of readiness to deal with emergency incidents and scenarios in a professional way. This professionalism is achieved through comprehensive coordination among all partners, speed of response to emergency alerts, and putting in place international best practices in a way that enhances security and safety for the visitors and participants in "Expo 2020 Dubai" scheduled for next October.
The exercise, in which 72 teams from local and federal sectors participated, was attended by Lt. Gen. Saif Abdullah Al Shafaar, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior, HE Lt. Gen. Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, Chief of Dubai Police, and HE Maj. Gen. Pilot Faris Khalaf Al Mazrouei, Chief of Abu Dhabi Police, and other chiefs of police in the UAE, and the general directors, as well as a number of senior officers of the Ministry of the Interior.
The exercised was also witnessed by Brig. Gen. Musallam Mohamed Al Rashdi from the General Command of the Armed Forces - Presidential Guards, Khalifa bin Derai, Executive Director of the Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services, Mohamed Sultan Al Zaabi from the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR), Obaid Saif Al Mehairi, and Ali Ateeq Al Hammadi from the General Authority of Ports, Borders and Free Zones Security, as well as a number of officials from inside and outside the UAE.
HE Reem Al Hashemi, Minister of State for International Cooperation and Director General of Expo 2020 Dubai, stated: As we prepare for Expo 2020 Dubai to welcome all people from all over the world at the first Expo ever in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia region, today's exercises are carried out to enhance our readiness to host this exceptional global event as we open our doors for the world next October.
All thanks and appreciation to Lt. Gen. HH Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, for his incessant support and directives to maintain full cooperation among all federal and local security authorities to ensure that the security measures we put in place are in line with the highest international standards for global events.
Stepping up readiness
HE Lt. Gen. Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri indicated that the exercise comes as part of the keenness of the Dubai Police General HQs and the Expo 2020 Dubai Office and their partners to step up readiness of the various teams in preparation for the global event that is expected to grab the world's attention. He also stressed that the exercise aims to test the procedures and approved standards related to maintain the international eminence and leverage of Dubai, its landmarks and public facilities in terms of security and safety, in addition to enhancing joint cooperation with all the relevant authorities, including security agencies and strategic partners, to reach complete readiness and speed of response to all alerts and review all points of improvement.
He added that these important exercises contribute to improving the competencies of all personnel and intensifying coordination among various authorities in the country to deal with emergency incidents and to draw up appropriate plans to deal with them in a highly professional manner, tapping into the latest AI and smart technologies in managing operations and handling various scenarios and potential incidents. Al Marri then praised the high level and professionalism demonstrated by the various participating teams from all the parties in carrying out the tasks assigned to them and their extraordinary capability of coordination with all partners.
Objectives of exercise
With regard to exercises, Maj. Gen. Ali Abdullah Al Ghaithi, Director of Organisations Protective Security and Emergency, stressed that the exercises are comprehensive activities in which all the bodies, both local and federal, operating in Expo 2020 Dubai participate, including the Armed Forces, the Presidential Guards, the Ministry of Interior, Civil Defense and others.
Al Ghaithi indicated that the exercise achieves a set of important goals that support preparations to host Expo 2020 Dubai, especially measuring the effectiveness of the plans put in place by specialized and field teams at the site, measuring the speed of response to emergency incidents, and identifying the responsiveness and effectiveness of the systems used at the Expo site. He stressed that the massive exercise contributes to raising the level of readiness of all teams to deal with all future emergency scenarios, developing and empowering decision-makers at various levels to take immediate and correct decisions, choose the best plans, and ensure the ability of participating leaders at all levels to plan and prepare for crisis management, coordination, exchange of information, setting joint procedures, and identifying the best areas of improvement. Al Ghaithi then pointed out that all the steps reviewed in the exercised and the procedures taken to deal with scenarios were evaluated by internal and external evaluation experts.
French participation
Brig. Gen. Olivine Paquette of the French National Police, who took part in and attended the exercise, praised the professionalism demonstrated by all teams from the different sides in dealing with different scenarios. He added that the exercise was an excellent opportunity to prepare all teams for handling all scenarios, whether at the psychological, administrative or field level, ensuring that future incidents will be handled professionally at all times.