Press Release Nº193/2015

AUC-ICAO strengthening cooperation in civil aviation in Africa

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – 19 August 2015: The African Union Commission Chairperson, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, met with the Secretary General of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), Dr Fang Liu, who was on her first official visit since taking over on 1 August 2015. Meeting at the AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 19 August 2015, Dr. Dlamini Zuma and Dr. Fang Liu discussed strategies to implement a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) signed on 27 September 2010 between AUC and ICAO.

They exchanged on cooperation modalities to strengthen cooperation in the field of civil aviation, notably through areas for the improvement such as aviation safety, air navigation capacity and efficiency, aviation security and facilitation, economic development of air transport, environmental protection, capacity building and training of aviation personnel and technical cooperation and technical assistance.

These areas are in line with the AU’s roadmap for the implementation of the Yamoussoukro Decision towards the establishment of the single African air transport market under the Africa Agenda 2063. The objectives are also in accordance with the ICAO Strategic Objectives.

Priority will be given to the 11 AU member states which declared their commitment to full implementation of the Yamoussoukro Decision towards the establishment of a single African air transport market with well-established National Identification System.

They also exchanged views on the organisation of a dedicated Ministerial meeting on aviation security and facilitation to establish targets similar to aviation safety, and further development of air navigation targets for submission to AU Organs for endorsement.

Other issues discussed included technical assistance for the establishment of an African passport with ICAO standards; assistance to the African airlines in complying with safety standards; and removal of banned African airlines from the EU black list. In this regard, the two organisations recognised the need for AUC to mobilise international institutions in supporting civil aviation programmes.

The AU Commission Chairperson and ICAO Secretary General mutually expressed their satisfaction on the results so far achieved in implementing the MoC. They recognized that there is still a lot to be done in terms of effective implementation of safety and security requirements.

JEE