ISLAMABAD: The 11th meeting of directors general (DGs) of civil aviation of the Developing-8 (D-8) organisation and expert working group concluded here on Tuesday at a local hotel, with the pledge to make the best use of civil aviation cooperation platform and broaden the scope of collaboration on available opportunities.
The two-day meeting, which took place for the first time in Pakistan, was hosted by Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Directors General Civil Aviation from member countries, including Bangladesh, Nigeria, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Pakistan and Turkey, attended the meeting.
CAA DG Air Marshal (retd) Asim Suleiman, who declared the meeting closed, in his concluding remarks, said that, in the meeting, aviation industry authorities of D-8 countries held thorough discussions on key challenges being faced by the aviation sector in the region.
He informed that the participants of the meeting focused on various issues and available opportunities in the aviation sector and prepared a comprehensive report. Adoption of the report in principle has been made, he said.
He said the participants of the meeting had made the commitment to benefit from one another’s experience and expertise, adding that the outcome of the meeting would help in making certain breakthroughs. “The outcome of this meeting will help in social uplift of around one billion people of the area,” he said.
He said that the theme of the meeting was “Adding Wings to Economic Growth and Social Uplift in D-8 Countries”, which was an indication of the fact that there were tremendous prospects that the D-8 community could tap from the global aviation industry.
Asim Suleiman said that it had been agreed upon to strengthen the cooperation among D-8 countries through coordinated, integrated and allied collaboration in all spheres of civil aviation.
He said that joint safety and security were the key areas where the forum could play its role in an effective manner.
He also thanked all the dignitaries for visiting Pakistan, stating that their contributions had helped achieve something concrete.
