ICAO, NEPAD sign MoU to enhance development of African aviation
Cooperation
By Sumaila Ogbaje
Abuja, May 11, 2018 (NAN) The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) have signed an agreement to enhance the development and modernisation of civil aviation in Africa.
This was disclosed in a statement by ICAO’s President, Dr Benard Aliu, on Friday in Montreal and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
Aliu said the cooperation would promote aviation related infrastructure development and capacity building to aid a sustainable air transport for Africa and Africans.
He stated that cooperating with development institutions had always been fundamental to the aviation sector development.
According to him, this new framework with NEPAD will allow ICAO and NEPAD to effectively address the development and modernisation of quality aviation infrastructure in Africa.
“This is consistent with ICAO’s global and Africa regional planning and commensurate with the exponential traffic growth forecast here.
“The new ICAO/NEPAD Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will formalise and deepen the cooperation between these two organisations.
“It will contribute to the implementation of the Declaration and Framework for a Plan of Action for Development of Aviation Infrastructure in Africa, which was adopted at the fourth ICAO World Aviation Forum in 2017 in Abuja,’’ he said.
NEPAD’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr Ibrahim Mayaki, was quoted as saying that both organisations would now be working more closely together in facilitating the movement of persons and goods in Africa.
Mayaki added that the cooperation would mobilise resources for aviation infrastructure development by implementing NEPAD’s “MoveAfrica” initiative for the aviation sector.
He said that it would also promote the development of e-commerce as well as training and retraining next generation of aviation professionals and promoting gender equity on the continent.
“This collaboration will provide added value for both organisations and improve aviation infrastructure development in Africa.
“It will help strengthen NEPAD’s understanding of the aviation sector, and importantly help us to ensure the inclusion of aviation projects in the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA),’’ he said. (NAN)
OYS/IKU/AFA
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Edited by Tayo Ikujuni/ Felix Ajide