Riyadh - The Fourth Middle East Safety Summit, organized by the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), in collaboration with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), was inaugurated here today under the patronage of the Minister of Transport and Chairman of GACA Board of Directors, Dr. Nabil Al-Amoudi.
On the occasion, Dr. Al-Amoudi delivered a speech in which he extended thanks and appreciation to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, for the royal approval on Kingdom's hosting the permanent headquarters of Regional Safety Oversight Organization for the Middle East and North Africa (RSOO – MENA) and the allocation of a budget of $ 1.5 million for this purpose.
He explained that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is concerned with the issues of civil aviation in general and air safety in particular, in addition to its full belief in the need to apply air safety standards and procedures in the civil aviation industry at the global level.
For his part, the Regional Director of the Civil Aviation Organization in the Middle East Mohammed Rahma, delivered a speech at the Summit during which he expressed his thanks and appreciation to the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for its hospitality and hosting the Fourth Middle East Safety Summit Conference, pointing to the importance of the civil aviation industry which plays a key role in the global economy.
He added that scheduled commercial flights in 2017 in the Middle East amounted to 36.6 million flights, while the movement of scheduled flights increased to 1.37 million departure flights compared to 2013 when reaching 1.08 million flights.
The Summit to be held until October 3, 2018 in Riyadh, will discuss ways to ensure the highest levels of air safety, benefiting both passengers in particular and the civil aviation industry in the Middle East in general and the commitment of all concerned parties; Civil Aviation Authorities, air carriers and manufacturers based on recommended standards.