HE the Minister of Transport Jassim Seif Ahmed al-Sulaiti was among the prominent visitors on Monday at the exhibition held as part of the GCC Traffic Week celebrations.
Besides touring the pavilions at the exhibition, HE the Minister also appreciated the efforts of the organisers in spreading the message of safety driving among the country’s road users and schoolchildren.
HE al-Sulaiti hoped that road users, in particular children, would learn considerably about issues such as the safety and security of road travellers, which are prominently themed at the exhibition.
Meanwhile, hundreds of school students visited the expo at Darb Al Saai, the main venue of the celebrations. More than 1,800 students from 40 schools toured the pavilions on the first day and the response was equally encouraging yesterday as well.
Students were also provided with opportunities to take part in games, entertainment and other competitions held as part of the exhibition.
While expressing happiness at the expo, Ft Lt Abdullah bin Aboobacker al-Dahab, head of the delegation from Oman, lauded the event’s conduct. He said the annual traffic week in the GCC states have played a key role in raising awareness among the people and reducing traffic incidents.
An all-woman delegation led by Capt Hind al-Zawadi has arrived from Bahrain. It is understood that it is the first time the neighbouring state is sending a team consisting only of women.
The UAE team leader, Maj Khalfan Saeed al-Naqbi, said the annual traffic week has helped a lot in sharing and exchanging the experiences between member countries to access top-level security measures on roads. He said besides helping prepare statistics and strategies on traffic-related issues, the event has also helped the authorities understand the initiatives that each other has made to reduce road accidents.
In partnership with Abdullah Abdulghani & Bros Co, the distributors of  Toyota vehicles, the organisers also honoured “the country’s best drivers”. AAB are the golden sponsors of the celebrations.
The honouring ceremony was held under the aegis of the General Directorate of Traffic, which felicitated five drivers who have no history of accidents or traffic violations. AAB official Hisham Mohamed Ismail said the campaign to honour accident-free drivers would continue for the next nine weeks and a total of 45 drivers would be honoured.