UAE, French civil aviation authorities sign cooperation agreement

By WAM Reprint | | Print |

DUBAI, Jul 5 2018 - The UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) and the French Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAC) have signed for the first time a bilateral technical cooperation agreement. The agreement covers all topics related to the development of civil aviation, in particular those of safety and cyber-security. The signing took place in the presence of the French Ambassador to the UAE, Ludovic Pouille.

The cooperation will include exchanging experts, holding joint seminars, organising on-the-job trainings and participating in academic courses.

This agreement is the achievement and formalisation of a cooperation between both countries that has already started in 2017 when a UAE delegation visited DGAC for discussions on the organisation of safety oversight, and then followed by the participation of an expert from DGAC at the first ICAO Aviation Cyber-Security Summit and Exhibition hosted by the GCAA. Since then, both aviation authorities regularly exchanged technical information and practises for the benefit of enhancing safety.

The Director-General of GCAA, Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi, said, “This cooperation is a new achievement for the UAE, France and the whole international civil aviation system. It is a bridge between nations and regions of great importance that have committed to building strong capacity in ensuring a safe, secure and sustainable civil aviation system that will benefit citizens from all the over the world. We at the GCAA manage and regulate the UAE airspace and the aviation sector in order to serve the public in a dynamic and thriving aviation environment.”

The Ambassador Pouille, said, “This comes to show the strength of UAE and France’s bilateral relations. Safety and cyber-security are important factors in civil aviation and this cooperation will help both countries to benefit from each other’s expertise and knowledge”.

According to Bertrand de Lacombe, DGAC’s Director of International Cooperation, “The GCAA has become a key player in air transport regulation, at the heart of a region where activity is tremendously dynamic. The characteristics of our countries are different but it is precisely the interest of our bilateral cooperation: it will enable us to benefit from our experiences, as we face common challenges (safety oversight, airport management, security, emergence of UAVs, etc.).”

WAM/Rasha Abubaker