The General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) in the UAE signed the initial Air Transport Services Agreement and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Civil Aviation Authority of the Republic of South Sudan, on Tuesday in Dubai, with the aim to strengthen bilateral aviation relations between the two countries.

The agreement was signed by Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi, Director-General of the GCAA and Eng. Wendy Adi Kenny, Director-General of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Republic of South Sudan.

Commenting on the deal, Al Suwaidi said the UAE is the first country in the Middle East to sign the open space agreement with the Republic of South Sudan to cope with increasing growth in air traffic in terms of movement of passengers and goods between the two countries, pointing out that "such agreements contribute to the development of cooperation and promotion of economic relations between the UAE and other countries worldwide."

"It is the UAE's strategy to contribute to explore investment opportunities and promote trade exchange."

Al Suwaidi reiterated that the GCAA aims to conclude more open skies agreements to expand trade and tourism ties to support the national carriers such as Etihad Airways, Emirates Airline, Air Arabia and flydubai, as well as entrepreneurs, firms and tourists, adding that the open space agreements enhance air transport services and encourage free competition.

On her part, Laila Ali bin Hareb Al Muhairi, Assistant Director-General for Strategy Sector and International Affairs at the GCAA, said the UAE ranked second internationally in terms of numbers of open skies agreements, noting that the UAE is constantly striving to promote open skies policy with various world countries.

The air transport agreements are governed by the laws and freedoms set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation to regulate air transport among States. The UAE urges countries to sign the open skies agreements to remove restrictions on international air traffic.
Source: WAM