Dubai: The UAE on Tuesday was re-elected to the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) for the second time.
It won the majority vote of 90 per cent, at the 37th session of ICAO General Assembly held in Montreal, Canada, from September 28 to October 6.
The council consists of 36 out of 190 members and this is the second time the UAE has been elected. The first was in 2007.
Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of the Economy, Chairman of the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), and head of the UAE delegation commented:
“The UAE was able to [achieve this] and win the trust of countries around the world because of the leading, active role it plays in civil aviation internationally. The UAE is the first in the region in terms of the size of the civil aviation sector. It has advanced infrastructure, with eight modern airports spread over all the emirates. In addition, it has five world class national airlines currently [with] 208 aircraft. Another 350 aircraft have been ordered and will be delivered within the [next] few years,” he added.
“The UAE presents this new achievement to its leadership, under H.H. Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The GCAA reiterates the UAE commitment to work and to coordinate closely with the ICAO in the coming years, continuing its support for civil aviation and supporting initiatives in training, research, conferences and other activities regionally and internationally.” Al Mansouri concluded.
The re-election of the UAE to the ICAO Council, he said, is the result of a huge effort which began over a year ago, with the GCAA seeking the support of organisations and governmental authorities involved in civil aviation around the world, in addition to diplomatic efforts led by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The relationship between the UAE and the ICAO goes back to 1972 when the UAE officially joined the council. Since then, the UAE has actively participated in the ICAO’s plans. It s representative office in Montreal was opened in 2005 specifically to prepare for the ICAO elections. Captain Aysha Al Hamili was appointed as the UAE permanent representative to the ICAO council. This was an important step towards enhancing the role of the UAE in decision-making processes in the council.
Al Hamili is the first UAE national to be nominated for this position and the youngest member in the ICAO Council.
