Iraqi delegation visits e-Gate at Dubai International Airport

A high level Iraqi delegation, led by the Governor of Basra, His Excellency Wael Abdelateef Hussain, visited the e-Gate facility at Dubai International Airport during a recent visit to Dubai. The Governor and his 20-member team, accompanied by Lieutenant Colonel Jassim Abdul Ghafoor, Assistant Director in charge of Border Control, DNRD studied the card-operated electronic passport control system that has been operational since August 2002 and acquired an 'e-card' that enables quick access to the airport to registered visitors.

Dubai International Airport is one of only three airports in the world, and the first in the Middle East, to use the e-Gate system. e-Gate is a fully automated passport control system, that allows card-operated access to registered passengers. e-Gate offers passengers greater security as it replaces manual checks with biometric technology (fingerprint scan) to identify and clear registered passengers.

"As e-Gate represents one of the key achievements of DNRD, we thought it appropriate to introduce our Iraqi visitors to this facility. We also provided each member of the Iraqi delegation an e-card that will make their entry easy and quick each time they come to Dubai," said Colonel bin Belailah. "Dubai airport is among the world's few airports to install such an advanced passport control system. As Iraq prepares to return to its former glory with a massive reconstruction process, we believe projects like e-Gate will inspire them to adopt state-of-the-art systems to accelerate the pace of catching up with the rest of the world."

"The development of e-Gate demonstrates Dubai's vision to be a leader in business and tourism," said Colonel bin Belailah. "As Dubai prepares to handle 30 million visitors by 2010, the pressure on passport control staff is going to be tremendous. e-Gate has been created with this aspect in mind. It takes just 5 seconds for pre-registered passengers to complete the formalities, using the electronic identification card."

"It is a matter of great pride that an Arab country is leading the way in pioneering a highly sophisticated and improved facility for passport control," commented His Excellency Wael Abdelateef Hussain, after visiting e-Gate. "The success of this project reflects the spirit of innovation that drives Dubai Naturalisation and Residency Department (DNRD) in handling the challenging job of satisfying the large number of expatriates and constant flood of tourist and business visitors. "e-Gate is a value-added benefit to the user-friendly amenities at Dubai Airport because it eliminates manual screening and stamping. It is a futuristic facility that has contributed to building a better image of Dubai.

"Our visit to Dubai has convinced us more than ever that there is a huge potential for enhanced cooperation between Iraq and the UAE. The vision of the UAE rulers and the hard work of the private and public sectors have combined to create a model state," added the Governor. "We appreciate the warm welcome extended to us by DNRD, and are confident that this is just the first step towards a stronger partnership being established between our two governments."

e-Gate can be used by pre-registered users through an e-card issued by DNRD. The card can be obtained beforehand by producing a passport-size photograph and original passport. The system is foolproof as it uses the e-card and the fingerprint scan of the user for identification and instant information retrieval. Within seconds, the computer checks the credentials of the user and provides or denies access, depending on the reading.