REPORT OF THE THIRD D-8 WORKING GROUP ON CIVIL AVIATION AND DIRECTOR GENERALS’ MEETING
BALI, INDONESIA, 17-18 JUNE 2008
1.The Director General of Civil Aviation of the Republic of Indonesia hosted the Third D-8 Working Group on Civil Aviation and Director Generals’ Meeting in Bali, Indonesia, on 17-18 June 2008. The Meeting was attended by delegations from 7 (seven) Member Countries of D-8, namely, the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, the Republic of Indonesia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Malaysia, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, and the Republic of Turkey. The delegation of the Arab Republic of Egypt was not present. Also in attendance was the Secretary-General of D-8, Dr. Dipo Alam. The full list of delegations was attached as Annex I.
2.In his welcoming remarks, Dr. Budhi M. Suyitno, the Director General of Civil Aviation of the Republic of Indonesia highlighted that this Meeting was essential to identify the potencies and challenges of Civil Aviation sectors amongst D-8 countries and the possibility of developing cooperation with private sectors. He viewed that there were at least three fields of cooperation in aviation industry to be developed amongst D-8 Countries, i.e., air navigation systems; aircraft maintenance; and airport infrastructure. He also informed the Meeting that Indonesia had already formulated a Strategic Plan on Civil Aviation called “Roadmap to Safety”, covering three main elements, namely safety, security, and services through compliance, which would be implemented simultaneously and continuously. The text of his welcoming remarks is attached as Annex II.
3.The Meeting was presided over by the Chairman of the D-8 Working Group, Dr. Ali Ariduru. In his remarks, Dr. Ali Ariduru underlined that this Meeting was a forum to exchange views and best practices in Civil Aviation amongst the D-8 Countries. He believed that this Meeting was in line with the objective of the D-8 Cooperation, i.e., to increase economic and trade of the D-8 people. The text of his welcoming remarks is attached as Annex III.
4.The D-8 Secretary General, in his remarks, briefed the Meeting on the progress of D-8 Cooperation since it was first founded in 1997. He viewed that D-8 had opportunities to develop and reach the target of 15-20 % intra trade amongst the D-8 in the next ten years as D-8 countries are gifted with abundant resources. He hoped that this kind of Working Group in Civil Aviation could be followed by that of Sea transportation and would support the cooperation in the fields of tourism and other sectors. He also expected that this Meeting would result in a recommendation that would be proposed in the next Sixth Summit in Malaysia in July 2008. The text of his welcoming remarks is attached as Annex IV.
5.The Meeting was officially opened by the Minister of Transportation of the Republic of Indonesia, H.E. Mr. Jusman Syafii Djamal. In his Opening Remarks, Mr. Jusman acknowledged that it was imperative for D-8 to strengthen cooperation in the field of Civil Aviation as it would help to increase the economic and social conditions of the D-8 people. He also stated that D-8 cooperation in this field was in line with the Government of Indonesia’s strong commitment to enhance the safety, security and services of the civil aviation in order to meet the requirement set by the International standard. He expected that this Meeting would facilitate major improvements in the cooperation of aviation industry amongst D-8 countries that would be a path to achieve regional cooperation and harmonized development of civil aviation industry. The text of his Opening remarks is attached as Annex V.
6.In the First Session, delegations made their Country Report presentation. The country papers presented by the delegations contained the latest development in aviation industry of respective countries and the possible cooperation in civil aviation industry amongst D-8 countries. The Delegations shared their countries’ national efforts to improve regulations and policy in civil aviation sectors, and to enhance aviation safety, security, service and compliance. They also briefed about their programmes of cooperation with regional and international organizations in Civil Aviation including International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and International Air Transport Association (IATA). The full text of this presentation was attached as Annex VI.
7.In the Second Session, representatives of private sectors in airline industries from Indonesia (PT. Garuda Maintenance Facilities Aeroasia, PT. Dirgantara Indonesia, and PT. Angkasa Pura I & II), Turkey (Turkish Air Terminal Company, Turkish Airlines, and MNG) and Iran (Iran Air and Mahan Air) presented their companies’ current programmes and activities in the areas of maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO); maintenance related tasks; certification and licensing; and airport infrastructures, terminal as well as ground handling. The presenters also shared experiences and best practices in the aviation businesses in some D-8 Countries.
8.With regard to Business to Business partnership, two MoU’s were signed, namely, MoU between Garuda Airlines and Turkish Airlines and MoU on Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul between GMF Aero Asia and MNG Airlines Turkey.
Besides, in line with the Letter of Intent (LoI) signed between DGCA of Indonesia and Turkey on business to business partnership, one LoI had been signed between PT Angkasa Pura II and TAV Airports Holding Turkey in the field of airport developments.
9.A Letter of Intent on the Establishment of Cooperation in the Field of Air Transport between the DGCA of Indonesia and DGCA of Turkey was also concluded during this Meeting.
10.At the end of the Second Session, the representative from the Ministry of Transportation of Indonesia also elaborated the Government’s activities and programmes in education and training in aviation industry.
11.Discussions took place after the presentation, particularly on the areas of cooperation that could be developed in the D-8 framework. The Delegations viewed that this Meeting had to take concrete actions of the Article 5 of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the Establishment of D-8 Member Countries’ Working Group for Cooperation in Civil Aviation. The Delegations also hoped that D-8 took active measures to reinforce the said MoU and possible arrangement for exchanging of expertise and conducting training amongst D-8 countries in aviation fields.
12.After intensive discussions and exchange of views, delegations agreed on the following recommendations:
a.To activate the Task Forces as a follow up of the Article 5 of the ToR of D-8 Working Group on Civil Aviation on the following areas:
i.Task Force on Safety and Security (Coordinator : Turkey)
ii.Task Force on Rulemaking Activities and Legal Issues (Coordinator : Iran and Turkey)
iii.Task Force on Commercial Issues (Maintenance, Airport and terminal infrastructure, ground handling, leasing, inviting other partners within and other potential D-8 partners, and other issues) (Coordinator: Turkey and Indonesia)
iv.Task Force on Air Navigation and Air Traffic Management (Coordinator : Turkey, Pakistan and Iran)
v.Task Force on Training and Capacity Building (Coordinator: Turkey)
vi.Task Force on Aviation Medical Licensing Standards and Communicable Diseases through Air Travel (Coordinator: Pakistan and Turkey)
b.To urge Member Countries that have competitive advantage in civil aviation activities to share their experiences and best practices with other member countries in needs through capacity building programmes.
c.To encourage the active participation of private sectors from other D-8 countries in the international civil aviation activities in line with their national interest. As the first move, the private sectors of Indonesia and Turkey had met and agreed to initiate cooperation in the areas of airport infrastructure and operations. This activity is open for other member countries. Both sides also agreed to immediately follow up the initiative.
d.To urge member countries that have not signed the “Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the Establishment of D-8 Member Countries’ Working Group for Cooperation in Civil Aviation” to do so in order to expedite the implementation of the said MoU.
13.In addition to Turkey and Iran that have put their signatures on the MoU in the second D-8 Working Group Meeting in Isfahan, Iran, on September 2007, the Director General of Civil Aviation of the Republic of Indonesia, the Director General of Civil Aviation of Bangladesh and the Assistant Director General of Civil Aviation of Pakistan signed the MoU during this third Meeting.
14.Indonesia requested D-8 member countries to support its proposal regarding the amendment of article 2 of the Chicago Convention within ICAO forum and will send a letter to member countries regarding this matter.
15.D-8 member countries would promote and initiate the combination of all possible cooperation opportunities within D-8 as well as between D-8 and other countries. The scope of this initiative would be consisting of issues related to passenger traffic, cargo traffic, maintenance, repair, overhaul activities, leasing aircraft, design and production of aircraft, joint certification, and training of civil aviation personnel.
16.The Meeting proposed Malaysia to host the Fourth D-8 Working Group on Civil Aviation and Director Generals Meeting. The Delegation of Malaysia will convey the proposal to the DGCA of Malaysia.
17.Delegations expressed their appreciation to the Government of the Republic of Indonesia for the excellent arrangement of the Meeting and for the hospitality offered to them during their stay in Bali.
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