MONTRÉAL, 1 April 2016 – ICAO Council President Dr. Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu wound up his recent mission to the People's Republic of China on a positive note last week, covering a range of topics including ICAO’s appreciation for China’s aviation safety and security performance in the context of its significant traffic growth, ongoing partnership and sustainable aviation development priorities under ICAO’s No Country Left Behind campaign, and China’s support for the ICAO global aviation market-based measure (GMBM) scheme which will be the focal point of the UN agency’s 39th Assembly this autumn.
Dr. Aliu was pleased to meet with Mr. Ma Kai, Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China, whose portfolio includes industry, transport and climate change issues. The Vice Premiere affirmed China’s full commitment to ICAO’s ongoing and future initiatives and welcomed the suggestion to consider enhancing China’s role in technical cooperation and assistance to developing States in areas of safety and security.
Dr. Aliu also met with Mr. Feng Zhenglin, Administrator of the Chinese civil aviation authority (CAAC). The two discussed China’s work toward streamlining civil-military airspace cooperation and its enviable aviation safety and security records – amongst many other topics.
Dr. Aliu was further welcomed by Mr. Su Wei, Director General of Climate Change in China’s National Development and Reform Committee, with whom environmental issues surrounding the GMBM scheme and the recent Paris Agreement under COP-21 were discussed in much greater detail.
“2016 is a critical year for aviation and the environment, and I was very pleased to note the commitments and actions being undertaken by the People’s Republic of China in support of reducing its international aviation emissions in the years and decades ahead,” President Aliu remarked. “The world has placed a lot on our sector’s shoulders post-COP/21, and China’s support will be invaluable to achieving the targets and agreements we have set to meet and surpass those responsibilities.”
The President’s mission was rounded off with visits to the CAAC No. 2 Research Institute and the Civil Aviation Flight University of China, where Dr. Aliu gained welcomed insights into China’s progress in terms of technical excellence and preparing the next generation of aviation professionals.
President Aliu was accompanied and supported throughout his mission in China by the Permanent Representative of China to the ICAO Council, Mr. Ma Tao, and by ICAO’s Asia-Pacific (APAC) Regional Director, Mr. Arun Mishra.
