Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation of Sri Lanka, Arjuna Ranatunga and Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to Canada, Asoka Girihagama attended the 40^th Session of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Assembly which was held from 24 September to 4 October 2019 in Montreal, Canada with a delegation of senior officials from Sri Lanka.

In his address at the Plenary on 28^th September 2019, Minister Ranatunga, the leader of the Sri Lanka delegation stated that significant progress had been made in the field of aviation in Sri Lanka due to the focus of the Government of Sri Lanka in promoting the aviation sector.

Minister Ranataunga stated that the Government of Sri Lanka had finalized a new National Civil Aviation Policy referred to as the NCAP in March of 2019 which emphasized the commitment of Sri Lanka to the importance of safety and economy of the aviation industry.  He also noted that the ICAO Global Regional Air Navigation Plan would be used as the basis for planning, designing, equipping and managing Sri Lanka’s airspace. Accordingly, Sri Lanka’s airspace would be managed to keep pace with ICAO’s advocated policy of Aviation System Block Upgrade that fulfills the requirements identified by the national air traffic management programmes.

ICAO policies and guidelines on principles of non-discrimination transparency cost-relatedness and consultation with users in the determination of levies fees and charges relating to civil aviation would be incorporated in the NCAP together with the creation of a separate Accident Investigation Bureau along with the recognition of business standards for designation in Bilateral Air Services Agreements.

The Minister noted that Sri Lanka had achieved result well above the global average in the ICAO Safety Oversight Audit in both 2010 and 2018 and that the consistency in safety oversight was a result of the ongoing commitment of the Government of Sri Lanka, the Ministry of Civil Aviation and other stakeholders. He also referred to the 10^th ICAN Conference in 2017 which was hosted by Sri Lanka and the 53^rd DGCA’s Conference of the Asia Pacific region in 2016.

Sri Lanka had ratified the Montreal Convention in 2018 by bringing about enhanced benefits to the travelling public while also implementing performance based navigation in all international Airports as per the ICAO standards.

He also referred the promotion of ICAO’s Next Generation Aviation Professional programme in   Sri Lanka which regularly sought to find the next generation of aviators in order to meet the ever-increasing demands of the industry.

Minister Ranatunga outlined Sri Lanka’s vision to expand tourism with the addition of a new airport in the Northern Province of the country which is in the process of being built. He stated that that the ‘Jaffna International Airport’ as it would be called, would boost regional connectivity and expressed hope that operations at the airport would commence in October 2019. The Minister also noted that it would be momentous occasion in the history of Sri Lanka’s aviation as this Airport was first built by the Royal Air Force during World War II and was bound to create new opportunities for the citizenry in the northern region of the country.

Minister Ranatunga added that while economic implications of aviation for the national economy of Sri Lanka are significant with research showing that currently aviation contributing to 5% of the National GDP, he was optimistic that with the new developments in the northern and eastern regions, there was hope to increase this contribution in the years to come.

The Minister held meetings with the Minister of State for Civil Aviation (India) Hardeep Singh Puri, Vice Minister of Transport of South Korea Kyungwook Kim and the Minister of Economy and Chairman of the United Arab Emirates Civil Aviation Authority Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori, on the sidelines of the sessions. The Minister and the delegation also visited airport and aviation facilities in Montreal.

The Sri Lanka High Commission in Ottawa coordinated the visit of the Hon. Minister and the delegation and also arranged the bilateral meetings, while the Hony. Consul for Sri Lanka in Montreal facilitated the airport visit in Montreal.

Led by Minister Ranatunga, the Sri Lanka delegation included H. M. Chandrasena Nimalasiri, Director General and Chief Executive Officer, Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka, Dammika Ranathunga, Chairman, Airport Company, Awanthi Senaratne, Director (Aviation), Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation, Athula Seneviratne, Head of Airport Training and Asantha Perera, Personal Assistant to the Hon Minister, to the 40^th Session of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Assembly.

 Sri Lanka High Commission

Ottawa

6^th October 2019