The Sri Lanka Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation, Nimal Siripala De Silva, welcomes ICAO Council President Dr. Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu (center back, left) and ICAO Secretary General Dr. Fang Liu (center back, right), accompanied by ICAO’s Asia and Pacific Regional office Director Mr. Arun Mishra (right).
The three ICAO officials were in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo for the 53rd Meeting of Asia and Pacific Directors General of Civil Aviation (DGCAs), which the Sri Lankan Government generously hosted this year.
During their discussions, Minister De Silva reiterated the strong commitment of Sri Lanka to implement ICAO's policies and programmes, which President Aliu and Secretary General Liu highlighted as a key perquisite for the global air transport connectivity so valued by Small Island States. He also requested that ICAO’s leaders look into the problem of training of aviation personnel in the Asia and Pacific Region, stressing that the courses offered can be prohibitively expensive for smaller States.
President Aliu thanked Minister De Silva and his Government for their arrangements and gracious support of the recent 53rd Meeting of Asia and Pacific DGCAs, further assuring him that he and Dr. Liu would review local training access issues through the ICAO Global Aviation Training office.
