United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was in Montreal on 12 February, where he delivered an inspirational speech to the staff of ICAO and other local UN agencies with offices in Montreal, as well as a special address to the ICAO Council.

ICAO Council President Dr. Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu and United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon conducted a productive scheduled meeting last week while in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for two high-level African Union meetings. Their discussion focussed on ICAO’s assistance and capacity building for African States under the ‘No Country Left Behind’ initiative, and the critical role of a well-supported air transport sector in helping States to attain the UN Sustainable Development Goals under Agenda 2030. More...

ICAO Council President Dr. Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu conducted a wide range of high-level meetings while visiting Ethiopia last week, for the 28th Ordinary Session of the African Union (AU) Executive Council, and the 26th Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly. He was joined on the occasion by ICAO’s Regional Directors for its Eastern and Southern African and Western and Central African Offices, Messrs. Barry Kashambo and Mam Sait Jallow, respectively. More...

ICAO Secretary General Dr. Fang Liu is welcomed by the Mayor of Montréal, the Honourable Denis Coderre, during her first official visit to ICAO’s Host City on 16 December 2015. Dr. Liu was joined at Montréal City Hall by Mr. Benoît Verhaegen, ICAO’s Senior External Relations and Legal Officer, and also met on the occasion with Mr. Jean-Benoît Leblanc, Permanent Representative of Canada to the ICAO Council, Montréal Director of International Relations, Mr. Henri-Paul Normandin, Montréal Commissioner for External Affairs, Ms. Dominique Poirier, and the Special Advisor to the Mayor, Mr. Howard Liebman.

ICAO’s Council President, Dr. Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu, met recently with the European Commissioner for Mobility and Transport, Ms. Violeta Bulc, while he was in Paris for a series of ICAO Environmental Protection events and presentations at the COP21. The two officials discussed environmental issues in general and ICAO’s progress in finalizing a global market-based measure (MBM) scheme for international aviation, in time for the 39th ICAO Assembly in September 2016. They also touched on recent developments involving cybersecurity, remotely-piloted aircraft and conflict zones. At present during the discussions were the EU’s ICAO Head of Office, Mr. Christopher Ross, ICAO Deputy Director for Environmental Protection, Ms. Jane Hupe, and ICAO’s Regional Director for the European and North Atlantic (Paris) Office, Mr. Luis Fonseca de Almeida.

ICAO Council President Dr. Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu (left) and ICAO Secretary General Dr. Fang Liu (right) welcomed over 800 participants, including Ministers and senior officials from industry and UN/international organizations to the inaugural ICAO World Aviation Forum on 23 November 2015. More...

During her first mission to the United States as ICAO Secretary General and accompanied by the U.S. Representative on the ICAO Council, Ambassador Michael Anderson Lawson, Dr. Fang Liu met recently with Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Mr. Michael P. Huerta (above left), and with Mr. Christopher Hart, Chairman of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (right) to discuss a range of strategic planning issues. During this visit, Dr. Liu also met with the Department of Transportation’s Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs, Ms. Susan Kurland, the Transportation Security Administration’s Assistant Administrator for the Office of Global Strategies, Mr. Paul Fujimura, the Department of Commerce’s Assistant Secretary for Industry and Analysis, Mr. Marcus Jadotte, and from the Department of State Mr. Kurt Tong, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs and Ms. Bathsheba Crocker, Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations.