CARICOM seeks representation on UN Aviation council

Nov 22, 2018 News

Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, Secretary General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat, has asked the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO) to provide representation on the organisation’s council for the CARICOM region.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of ICAO’s air transport meeting, LaRocque told Council President of the agency, Dr. Olumuyiwa Bernard Aliu, that the Caribbean region is an important strategic region to the global aviation sector.
Hence, he posited that it is necessary for ICAO’s 36-seat council to set aside one seat for CARICOM.
The ambassador said that results from a recent Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) study titled “Air Transport Competitiveness and Connectivity” highlight the critical nature of air connectivity to the growth and development of the Caribbean.

CARICOM Secretary General, Irwin La Rocque

LaRocque told the meeting that CARICOM is currently formulating the community’s transport policy for its member states. He said that CARICOM aims to train personnel, share resources and harmonise national policies across the region.
The Secretary General implored the council that as ICAO focuses on air connectivity between the African Union and CARICOM, it is important for the Caribbean region to be represented as it will be instrumental in the quest to make the Caribbean the hub that will revolutionise travel between Africa and the West.
According to Annette Ferguson, Minister within the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, travel from Africa to the Caribbean and South America generally takes days because the plane usually has to travel to the US or the United Kingdom, then to the destination, whether it is Caribbean or South America.
She said that, if direct flights are facilitated to Guyana, the time taken to travel could be cut down from three days to five hours.
A specialized agency of the United Nations, ICAO was created in 1944 to promote the safe and orderly development of international civil aviation throughout the world. It sets standards and regulations necessary for aviation safety, security, efficiency, capacity and environmental protection, amongst many other priorities.
The Organization serves as the forum for cooperation in all fields of civil aviation among its 192 Member States.
ICAO’s governing council consists of 36 members that are usually elected based on their strategic significance to the global aviation sector.
The states of chief importance in air transport make up the first 11 states Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russian Federation, United Kingdom and the United States.
The next 12 states are those which make the largest contribution to the provision of facilities for international civil air navigation, namely Argentina, Colombia, Egypt, India, Ireland, Mexico, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain and Sweden.
The remaining states were chosen to ensure geographic representation. They are Algeria, Cabo Verde, Congo, Cuba, Ecuador, Kenya, Malaysia, Panama, Republic of Korea, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania, and Uruguay.

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