During a special ceremony today at ICAO’s 41st Assembly, Pacific States officially launched a new Pacific Regional Aviation Strategy.
The new Strategy is a major turning point for the Pacific Sub-region, and will help its participating States work together more effectively with ICAO and the Pacific Aviation Safety Office (PASO) to assure the safe, secure, and sustainable growth of regional air connectivity and socio-economic development.
“ICAO, especially through its Asia Pacific Regional Office, has actively engaged with the Pacific Small Islands Developing States through various activities promoting a closer working relationship between the Pacific Sub-region and ICAO,” commented ICAO Secretary General Juan Carlos Salazar, who was joined by the Walter Schaubelt, Minister of Transport of Papua New Guinea, the President of the Assembly Poppy Khoza and ICAO Council President Salvatore Sciacchitano.
“In particular, ICAO is pleased to have had the opportunity to contribute to the development of a number of key instruments, namely the Pacific Ministers Declaration and the Pacific Aviation Safety Office 10-year Pacific Regional Aviation Strategic Plan for 2022-2032,” Secretary General Salazar continued.
Following the ICAO 2019 Pacific Small Islands Developing States (PSIDS) Aviation Needs Analysis, an Implementation Roadmap was developed to guide ICAO efforts in the region. As countries continue to work to recover from the global pandemic, ICAO is focusing its efforts on capacity-building,
implementation support activities, and technical assistance to the PSIDS through complimentary delivery of ICAO’s Implementation Packages (iPacks), in addition to the continued on-site technical assistance missions.
“A number of consultative meetings with the States in the Pacific-Sub region have taken place followed by technical assistance activities through virtual ‘Combined Action Team’ missions. In the same vein, the Pacific Small Islands Developing States also received complimentary virtual training courses,” Mr. Salazar emphasized.
He also noted the recent appointment of a dedicated ICAO PSIDS Liaison Officer, with the generous financial support contributed by Singapore and offers to host the new ICAO Officer being received from Fiji and Papua New Guinea.
In closing, Mr. Salazar emphasized ICAO’s unwavering commitment to the PSIDS, and to advance the achievement of ICAO’s global Strategic Objectives for sustainable civil aviation growth in the Pacific.
A specialized agency of the United Nations, ICAO was created by governments in 1944 to support their diplomacy on international air transport matters. Since that time, countries have adopted over 12,000 standards and practices through ICAO which help to align their national regulations relevant to aviation safety, security, efficiency, capacity and environmental protection, enabling a truly global network to be realized.
ICAO forums also provide opportunities for advice and advocacy to be shared with government decision-makers by industry groups, civil society NGOs, and other officially-recognized air transport stakeholders.