World civil aviation body seeks UAE assistance in 'capacity building efforts'

Officials say this shows the advanced standards attained by the UAE civil aviation industry to win the trust of ICAO.

The issue is one of the topics on the agenda of visiting ICAO Secretary General, Dr. Taieb Cherif. He arrived in Dubai on Friday and will be holding talks with senior UAE officials.
"The ICAO has invited the GCAA to support its aviation safety and security capacity building efforts, under the premises of ICAO's Coordinated Assistance and Development Programme, as well as ICAO's Unified Strategy.

"Both Programmes were approved by the ICAO Council and launched by the organization to help ICAO member states remedy their aviation safety and security deficiencies revealed under ICAO's universal safety and security audit and oversight programmes, and to further assist them to develop institutional safety and security infrastructures", said Mohammed Ghanim Al Ghaith, Director General of GCAA . The ICAO is the UN Agency responsible for international civil aviation.

Capacity building is often achieved through training and the development of human, technical and financial resources that are invested in the overall improvement of civil aviation.

Al Ghaith said Dr. Cherif's discussions with GCAA officials would also cover cooperation between ICAO and the GCAA on issues of mutual concerns. A special emphasis will be laid on the latest safety, security and environmental challenges facing the international aviation industry.

During his visit, Dr. Cherif will meet H.E Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansoori, Minister of Development of Government Sector and Chairman of General Civil Aviation Authority, H.H Sheikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoom, President of the Civil Aviation Department in Dubai and H.E Mohammed Ghanim Al Ghaith, Director General of the GCAA.

The discussions will also include the setting up of a centre in the UAE for training, research and advanced studies in the fields of aviation safety, security and air transport.
"The centre will serve as a think tank to further help in the overall development of civil aviation in the region and beyond", explained Al Ghaith.

The upcoming aviation safety summit in Dubai, to be held under the Global Aviation Safety Road Map, will also be reviewed. The summit will be the first of its kind under the new parameters of the Road Map, a partnership between the public and private sectors of the international civil aviation community. The summit is expected to launch a regional plan of action for aviation safety, and will serve as a model for other regional initiatives.

Dr. Cherif's discussions will also cover the ICAO regional Cooperative Development of Operational Safety and Continuing Airworthiness Programme (COSCAP) based in the UAE.

Officials said the visit by ICAO's Secretary General and the talks in the UAE demonstrate the leading role played by the GCAA in contributing to the standards of international civil aviation.