Asia-Pacific Aviation Directors' Meeting Held in Korea for the First Time in 21 Years

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Min-young] The Asia-Pacific (APAC) Regional Aviation Directors General Meeting will be held in Korea for the first time in 21 years.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 3rd that, in cooperation with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), it will hold the "57th ICAO Asia-Pacific (hereafter, APAC) Regional Aviation Directors General Meeting" for five days from the 4th to the 8th at the Paradise City Convention Center in Incheon.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is a UN specialized agency with 193 member countries, aimed at overseeing policies and regulations of the global aviation industry to promote the peaceful and sound development of international civil aviation.

This meeting is the highest-level conference in the APAC region where aviation directors general from 41 member countries, representatives of international organizations, and others gather annually to discuss regional aviation policies in various fields such as aviation safety, air navigation, air transport, aviation security, and the environment, and to explore ways to strengthen regional cooperation. It will be held in Korea for the first time in 21 years since 2001.

In particular, the meeting, which had not been held for the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is significant as it will be hosted in Korea under the theme of "Strengthening Regional Cooperation for the Recovery of Aviation Networks."

This meeting will be attended not only by aviation directors general from APAC member countries but also by high-level ICAO officials such as the ICAO Council Chairperson, Secretary General, and Director of Air Navigation, as well as top executives from international aviation organizations including the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and Airports Council International (ACI). Kim Yong-seok, Director General of Aviation Policy at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, will serve as the overall chairperson of the APAC Directors General Meeting, the first Korean to hold this position.

The overall chairperson will preside over meetings on standing agenda items such as aviation safety, air navigation, security, and transport, as well as various cooperation measures for aviation recovery, and will coordinate positions among member countries and international organizations related to the formulation of aviation policies in the APAC region.

Korea’s appointment to this highest policy meeting chairpersonship in the APAC region is evaluated as reflecting the country’s active contribution to ICAO activities aimed at enhancing global aviation safety as a Council member.

Following the opening ceremony, ICAO will hold a high-level panel meeting centered on the aviation industry to explain the industry's efforts and roles in overcoming COVID-19 and to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation between aviation directors general and government-industry sectors.

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong is expected to state at the opening ceremony, "I hope this meeting will be a turning point for the aviation industry to take off again, and that it will be a venue for discussing various aviation recovery promotion policies based on ICAO’s No Country Left Behind initiative."

Minister Won will also express Korea’s intention to actively participate in ICAO’s ongoing ‘Digital Transformation Project’ and plans to sign a Letter of Intent to participate in the ICAO Digital Transformation Fund.

Additionally, the "2022 International Aviation Cooperation Conference" will be held under the theme "Towards a Better Sky" for two days from the 5th to the 6th at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Incheon. CIAT is a representative international aviation transport event held in Korea every three years since 2004.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport stated that it expects Korea’s re-election for an eighth term as a Council member at the 41st ICAO Assembly to be held in Montreal, Canada, this September, and that this will positively influence Korea’s future elevation to a Council member part.