UAE re-elected to ICAO Council

The UAE has been re-elected to the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). UAE won the majority vote of 90 per cent, at the 37th session of ICAO General Assembly held in Montreal, Canada during the period September 28 - October 6, 2010.

The Council consists of 36 out of 190 members of ICAO. This is the second time the UAE is elected to the Council. The first time was in the previous session held in 2007.

Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy, Chairman of the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), and head of the UAE delegation, said: “This is a big achievement for the UAE and its civil aviation sector. It will enhance the UAE image in this sector and encourage it to make more initiatives and implement the aviation security, safety and environment plans worldwide."

"The UAE was able to make this achievement and win the trust of countries around the world because of the leading and 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 8 modern airports spread over all emirates. In addition, it has 5 world class national airlines currently having 208 aircrafts, and other 350 aircraft have been ordered and will be delivered within the few coming years," he said.

The re-election of the UAE to ICAO Council is the result of relentless efforts which started over a year ago with GCAA seeking the support of organizations and governmental authorities involved in civil aviation around the world, in addition to the diplomatic efforts lead by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs to achieve this goal.

The relationship between UAE and ICAO goes back to 1972 when the UAE officially joined ICAO. Since then, the UAE actively participated in ICAO's plan and initiatives, and was elected to ICAO Council for the first time in the previous session held in 2007.

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