"Civil aviation" Organizes the strategic retreat for civil aviation

2 hours ago

3 minutes read

Dubai, December 19 / WAM / The General Civil Aviation Authority organized the Civil Aviation Strategic Retreat under the title “Leading the Future of Aviation” at the Etihad Museum in Dubai, in the presence of His Excellency Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi, Director General of the Authority, and with the participation of an elite group of more than 70 leaders, officials and experts from the sector.

According to a press release issued today, the list of attendees included His Excellency Salem Butti Al Qubaisi, Director General of the Emirates Space Agency, His Excellency Mohammed Abdullah Linjawi, Director General of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, His Excellency Ali Salem Al Midfa, Chairman of the Sharjah International Airport Authority, Tahnoun Saif, Executive Director of the Mohammed bin Rashid Aviation Project, Sarah Al Mamari, Acting CEO of Strata Manufacturing Company, Ahmed Safa, Emirates Senior Vice President of Engineering Support Services, and Dr. Abdul Rahman bin Taliah, Director of Executive Affairs at Air Arabia, along with Captain Mohammed Ahmed Al-Nahaya, Deputy Director in Charge and Vice President of Training Affairs at Etihad Airways, Captain Mohammed Al-Hammadi, Director of Compliance Monitoring Operations – Flydubai, and a number of officials and experts from the sector and national airlines.

In his opening speech, His Excellency Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi stressed that the UAE aviation sector has a tremendous ability to create broad economic and development opportunities, not limited to the air transport system only, but also including various industries, in addition to developing human cadres and talents, embracing technology, and promoting innovation in various fields of the sector.

He added that the aviation sector has succeeded in consolidating the country’s position as a global brand synonymous with excellence and reliability in the aviation industry, which reflects the distinguished reputation that the country enjoys on the international scene.

He stressed that preserving and enhancing these gains requires a proactive and flexible approach at various levels, which includes continuous development of legislation through reviewing and updating laws and regulations, strengthening infrastructure, and accelerating digital and technical transformation, ensuring keeping pace with current and future requirements and supporting the sustainable growth of the industry, stressing the importance of developing and strengthening strategic partnerships in a way that achieves added value and mutual benefits for the national sector.

For his part, Engineer Yousef Hashem Al-Azizi, Assistant Director General of the Strategy and International Affairs Sector at the Authority, gave a presentation during the retreat in which he reviewed the most prominent strategic pillars of the civil aviation sector, based on the objectives of the “We Are the Emirates” Vision 2031, the UAE Centenary 2071, and relevant national strategies, in addition to the initiatives and policies of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), global future trends and others.

Engineer Al-Azizi explained that the Authority hopes that the retreat will produce practical outcomes that enhance the sector’s competitiveness, support innovation and sustainable growth, and develop human capital, in a way that keeps pace with future changes and serves the state’s strategic goals in the field of civil aviation.

The attendees participated in three workshops, the first of which was the “Sustaining Economic Growth” workshop, moderated by His Excellency Saif Al Suwaidi, where he emphasized during an open dialogue with the participants the importance of enhancing the aviation sector’s contribution to the gross domestic product, diversifying business and investment models, supporting small and medium-sized companies, attracting national and foreign investments, and exploring promising economic opportunities, while exchanging best practices to reduce operational costs and increase the sector’s efficiency.

During which he pointed to the major role of the sector in supporting the national economy, as it currently contributes about 4.4 million tons of air freight and up to 18% of the gross domestic product, with these numbers expected to grow at rapid rates during the coming period.

While the second workshop, “Empowering Talents and Human Capital,” and moderated by Omar bin Ghaleb, Deputy Director General of the Authority, focused on bridging skills gaps in the aviation sector, qualifying and developing national cadres, qualifying cadres for jobs of the future, enhancing the job attractiveness of the sector, and exploring academic and specialized scholarship opportunities.

The importance of investing in human capital was emphasized to ensure the sustainability of the sector’s competitiveness and its ability to face future challenges.

The third workshop, entitled “Digital Transformation and Innovation,” which was moderated by Mr. Ahmed Al-Hoqqani, CEO of Artificial Intelligence at the Authority, discussed ways to employ modern technologies and artificial intelligence to enhance digital services and structures, review the best local and global practices, and develop a comprehensive vision for enhancing the smart aviation system in the country.

The retreat witnessed important and interactive discussions, and it was agreed to work together to formulate and adopt a number of joint initiatives in light of the outcomes of the discussions, and to work on them in the next stage in order to enhance the UAE’s position as a leading global destination in the air transport industry.