The Tribune

By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

GOVERNMENT officials yesterday announced the launch of the sixth North American, Central American and Caribbean Directors of Civil Aviation meeting, a conference aimed at improving regional air transport in accordance with international standards.

The meeting, which will take place each day until Thursday, is in conjunction with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a United Nations specialised agency established in 1944 to manage the administration and governance of the Convention on International Civil Aviation.

IACO works with the convention’s 191 member states and industry groups to reach a consensus on international civil aviation standards and recommended practices (SARPs) in support of a “safe, efficient, secure, economically sustainable and environmentally responsible civil aviation sector,” according to the organisation’s website.

At an opening ceremony at the Melià Nassau Beach Resort yesterday morning, Prime Minister Perry Christie highlighted the significance of such a meeting, which he said is underscored by the “challenges” posed by the country’s archipelagic nature.

“We obviously must rely on the connections by flight and by ports,” he said. “We’re an ocean nation. We have all of these islands. We have an island the size of Trinidad that has only 10,000 people on it. We have islands with much fewer people, but yet you need roads, schools, communications, and the infrastructural demands are extraordinary in terms of the fullness of them.

“This archipelagic nation of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is gifted by God as one of the most beautiful countries in the world...But we have a major challenge that requires on a continuing basis the dedication of resources and the full understanding of our neighbours who have always been willing to assist us in material ways.”

Melvin Cintron, ICAO regional director for North America, Central America and the Caribbean (NACC), called on the various civil aviation representatives to do their part in ensuring the region’s civil aviation’s standards are upheld in accordance with ICAO standards and recommended practices.

“Overall, it is incumbent upon each of us to not rest in our laurels, but we should strive to steer clear of traditional methods and business practices and provide new ways to provide aviation services to the larger community,” Mr Cintron said. “It should be a top priority to engage our countries in the highest levels of government to assist us and provide us the need and support for human capital and fiscal resources for an environment where safe secure and environmentally sound transport systems can flourish.”

The NACC was formed shortly after the establishment of the IAOC. The NACC regional office was established in Mexico City in 1957 and is responsible for working closely with 21 contracting states, the Bahamas included, as well as 19 territories.