Three Immigration officers of Hong Kong left for the Chinese mainland on Sunday for a two-week attachment program held in southern China's Guangdong Province.

The attachment program is co-organized by the Hong Kong Immigration Department and the Bureau of Entry and Exit Authority (BEEA) under the Ministry of Public Security in Beijing.

The program is reciprocal with three officers from the Hong Kong Immigration Department attached to the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport and three officers from the BEEA attached to the Hong Kong International Airport.

The aim of the program is to provide participants of both sides with the opportunity to learn from each other in terms of efficiency and personal capability, as well as to bring their newly acquired experience into practice in their own workplace.

At a sending off ceremony for the three immigration officers, Corrado Chow, Assistant Director of the Immigration Department, said cooperation and communication between the department and the relevant authorities in the Chinese mainland were increasing.

"The attachment programs are highly desirable with a view to facilitating the exchange of knowledge and sharing of experience between our officers and the counterparts in the Chinese mainland," Chow said.

(Xinhua News Agency, April 14, 2008)