ICAO Secretary General Juan Carlos Salazar was in Peru on 3 and 4 December 2021, where he held bilateral meetings and concluded agreements with Peru's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Oscar Maúrtua de Romaña (top photo); Minister of Transport and Communications, Juan Francisco Silva Villegas (bottom photo); Vice Minister of Transport, Fabiola Caballero; and the Director General of Civil Aviation, Donald Castillo Gallegos.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Secretary General reviewed Peru's contributions to ICAO and the State's continuing multilateral cooperation. Mr. Salazar highlighted the importance of effectively coordinating and harmonizing States' COVID-19 response measures, and on this point expressed his gratitude for Peru's participation in ICAO's recent High-Level Conference on COVID-19 (HLCC).
The Secretary General appreciated Peru's contributions to ICAO's work through its representation on the ICAO Council, and for its long-standing hosting of ICAO's Regional Office for South America (SAM). Turning to the future, the Secretary General expressed the importance of States establishing liberal economic measures to increase connectivity and enhance investments.
An agreement was signed by the Minister and the Secretary General that will support Peru in procurement related matters for e-passport personalization equipment. The Secretary General also met the Peruvian Vice Ministers of Health, Gustavo Martín Rosell De Almeida, and Tourism, Julia Isabel Alvarez Novoa, as well as other high-level national aviation members.
The bilateral meeting with Peru's Minister of Transport and Communications, and its Vice Minister of Transport, focused on the outcomes of the ICAO HLCC, and especially States' acknowledgement of the importance of consistent, proportionate and harmonized measures to avoid border closures, referring to ICAO's recent bulletin on the Omicron variant. The ministerial engagement concluded with the signing of a new technical assistance agreement between the Ministry and ICAO to support the strengthening of civil aviation in Peru through aeronautical development and continuous improvements to safety.
Peru's development of their aviation master plan and other cooperation projects in place with ICAO were among the main topics raised in subsequent talks with the Director General of Civil Aviation. Mr. Salazar and Mr. Gallegos discussed the importance of continuing a technical cooperation project to enhance the capacities of the civil aviation authority, with Environmental Protection being a key theme, and with the Secretary General highlighting the benefits of participation in ICAO's Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation.
The Secretary General's activities in Peru also included a visit to the SAM Regional Office, supported by ICAO SAM Regional Director Fabio Rabbani and the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Peru, Igor Garafulic.
