More than 400 police officers have been deployed to ensure the safety and security of the visiting delegates for the 52nd Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank.
The Fiji Police Force is part of the multi-agency Co-ordination Center located at the Port Denarau Mariner for the 52nd Annual Meeting of the ADB Board of Governors in Nadi.
The Chief Operations Officer Assistant Commissioner of Police Maretino Qiolevu in addressing the more than 400 officers to be deployed over the next few days, stressed the importance of ensuring the meetings are conducted without any major incidents.
Qiolevu told the officers during the meeting, the eyes of the world will be on Fiji, and whether as a small Pacific nation we have the ability to host an annual event of this magnitude
ACP Qiolevu said operations will cover both land and maritime surveillance with all the capabilities deployed for the entire duration of the meetings.
Reiterating the importance of the meeting, he stressed the event will be broadcasted around the world and any issues regarding security will point back to the leading law enforcement agency.
Qiolevu says in the eyes of our visitors, they will not recognise the officers by their ranks but see every oifficer as a member of the Fiji Police Force.
He adds if there is a negative situation regarding security, they will all be branded negatively together. The Force will need to ensure we are able to meet Government’s vision of showcasing Fiji’s ability to host more large conferences and the 52nd ADB meeting is a stepping stone to achieving that goal.
2000 people from 80 different countries have registered to be part of the Asian Development Bank Annual meeting next week.
The meetings will be held at Sofitel, Sheraton, Westin and Intercontinental from the 1st to the 5th of May.