Saudi Arabia’s regional and global cooperation through and with ICAO was the focus of ICAO Secretary General Juan Carlos Salazar’s recent mission to Riyadh.
The Secretary General engaged in high-level exchanges with the President of the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), H.E. Abdulaziz A. Al-Duailaj (pictured right).
Discussions encompassed opportunities for heightening cooperation between ICAO and Saudi Arabia, particularly within the context of the substantial contributions of the Kingdom to ICAO’s
No Country Left Behind activities. The President of GACA also reviewed with the Secretary General the national strategy for enhancing the Kingdom’s aviation sector in line with the Saudi Vision 2030.
While in Riyadh, the Secretary General addressed a meeting of the Cooperative Aviation Security Programme-Middle East (CASP-MID) and met with Mr. Mohammed Al Fozan, who is both the CASP-MID Chairman and the GACA’s Executive Vice-President – Aviation Security, to discuss the current and planned activities associated with the CASP-MID programme, which reflects the importance of the programme to the Middle East Region.
The Secretary General and his accompanying delegation visited King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, during which where they were briefed on the facility’s services and procedures to improve the traveller experience.
During his mission, the Secretary General was accompanied by ICAO’s Regional Director for the Middle East Region, Mr. Mohamed Abu Baker Farea, and ICAO’s Aviation Security Officer for the region, Mr. Hussain Qabbani.
