ICAO Helps Mideast Unlock Sustainable Development Goals

International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) secretary general Fang Liu underscored the value of the organization’s safety, security, strategies, and sustainability standards and recommended practices (SARPs) during the recent fifth meeting of the directors general of civil aviation in Kuwait City.

Her keynote address echoed ICAO’s advocacy for the benefits of aviation as they related to the achievement of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. ICAO promotes awareness of the various ways in which the international connectivity established through civil aviation directly supports sustainable development goals under agenda 2030.

“The ICAO Middle East region has been one of the fastest-growing in the world for passenger and cargo traffic since 2011,” said Liu, who also noted that regional air carriers continue to record 4 to 5 percent growth rates for passenger and freight traffic. “Aviation presently supports more than 2.4 million jobs and contributes $130 billion [in the Middle East region]. Each of your states has the primary responsibility to ensure that sufficient infrastructure, human resources, training, and other capacities are in place to accommodate and manage forecast growth.”

Liu urged that ensuring that local and national aviation planning aligns with SARPs and is structured on the basis of the targets established in ICAO’s global plans for aviation safety, air navigation capacity and efficiency, and aviation security.