ICAO and Singapore have renewed a commitment to aviation training

In February, the Second Changi Aviation Summit was attended by over 400 senior government officials, industry leaders and representatives from international organizations.  With  the theme “The Future of Aviation: Navigating a Post-Pandemic World”, the Summit provided a crucially important platform for ICAO and the global aviation community to discuss the opportunities and challenges faced by air transport internationally.

In his keynote address, ICAO Council President Salvatore Sciacchitano advocacted for a sustainable and resilient recovery of air transport. It was one of the highlights of the President’s mission to Singapore, which took place from 18 to 21 February 2024. He was accompanied throughout his activities by ICAO’s Regional Director for the Asia Pacific region, Mr Ma Tao. On the sidelines of the Changi Aviation Summit, Mr. Sciacchitano’s bilateral meetings provided important opportunities to explore ways of advancing and deepening ICAO’s cooperation with its members States.

His meetings included discussions with Singapore’s Minister for Transport, Mr Chee Hong Tat (pictured in the image to the right); Malaysia’s Minister of Transport, Mr Loke Siew Fook; the Director General of Civil Aviation of the United Arab Emirates, H.E. Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi; and the Deputy Administrator of the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Ms. Kathryn Thomson.

ICAO’s cooperation with Singapore in the area of aviation training took an important step forward following his discussions with Minister Chee, with the signing of two agreements in this area.

The Council President also led a dialogue session with ICAO Council Representatives, Directors-General, and representatives from more than 70 States. Participants exchanged views on the emerging priorities for civil aviation, such as sustainability and resilience, the role of ICAO in these issues, as well as the priorities and challenges for Directors-General today.

Environmental sustainability was a particular priority for the Council President. This was reflected in his participation in a Sustainability Roundtable on the topic of “Accelerating Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) Production,” which was attended by more than 70 Directors-General, ICAO Council Representatives, and industry leads from the Singapore energy and finance sectors. The Roundtable saw lively discussions surrounding the implementation of the Global Framework to achieve the “Vision to reduce CO2 emissions in international aviation by 5 per cent by 2030”, which was adopted at the Third ICAO Conference on Aviation and Alternative Fuels (CAAF/3).

During the Changi Aviation Summit, ICAO Council President Salvatore Sciacchitano (pictured left) and Singaporean Minister of Transport Chee Hong Tat, signed a new Annex to the Singapore-ICAO Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Cooperation in Leadership and Management Training for SAA. The MoU provides for the development and delivery of up to seven runs of a refreshed ICAO-SAA Directors-General Programme on Aviation Safety over the next three years. This training programme targets Directors-General to help them better manage safety related challenges post-COVID and to provide a closed-door platform to discuss topical challenges.

To further extend the Singaporean Aviation Academy (SAA)’s outreach and contributions to ICAO’s effort to develop the next generation of aviation professionals, Minister Chee and President Sciacchitano also signed an MoU on Singapore-ICAO Next Generation Aviation Professionals Scholarship Programme. The Scholarship Programme is targeted at young aviation professionals from all regions aged 35 and younger, to provide them with a foundation on key aviation topics. There will be an annual intake of 10 scholars, who will have the opportunity to complete a 6-week programme at the SAA and an aviation company in Singapore within three years. Each SAA scholar will also be personally mentored by a SAA Senior Fellow.