Summary
Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. - The International Civil Aviation Organization and the Dominican Institute of Civil Aviation, Idac, began the work of the Icao Global Implementation Support Symposium, Giss with a call to governments to strengthen the capabilities of the aeronautical industry to drive sustainable development and ensure that all citizens of the world enjoy the increasing benefits of Civil aviation.
Vice President Raquel Peña welcomes the meeting and affirms that aviation has been key to strengthening the country’s international connectivity, strengthening tourism development and promoting economic growth.
Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. – The International Civil Aviation Organization and the Dominican Institute of Civil Aviation, Idac, began the work of the Icao Global Implementation Support Symposium, Giss with a call to governments to strengthen the capabilities of the aeronautical industry to drive sustainable development and ensure that all citizens of the world enjoy the increasing benefits of Civil aviation.
The opening ceremony was attended by the Vice President of the Republic, Raquel Peña, who represented President Luis Abinader; and with the main aeronautical authorities of more than 193 countries, in which scenario the president of the Icao Council, Salvatore Sciacchitano, anticipated that during the symposium important bilateral agreements will be formalized between that organization and the member states.
“These agreements will further support the development of air transport through initiatives focused on infrastructure development, training programs and technology exchange,” he said.
Vice President Raquel Peña welcomed the delegates from the Icao member countries and declared that the symposium seeks to strengthen a global strategy to strengthen the industry, proclaiming the commitment of the Dominican Republic to excellence and innovation in the sector, and specified that air transport has been essential to strengthen the country’s international connectivity and strengthen its position as one of the main economies in the region.
Peña invited people to take advantage of the valuable opportunity to dialogue with national and international panelists participating in the symposium: “This space is to learn from success stories in the implementation of security measures, understand the impact of air operations on the environment and explore concrete strategies to promote a sustainable future in the aviation industry.”
Porcella highlights recognition of the country and ponders President Abinader’s strategy to strengthen tourism and civil aviation
The director general of Idac, Héctor Porcella, thanked Icao for selecting the Dominican Republic as the venue for the event, granting it the honor of being the first country on the American continent to organize this global civil aviation meeting:
“When we accepted the challenge of organizing this 2024 edition of the Giss, we did so aware that it was not a decision solely of the Dominican civil aviation institute, but rather a commitment of the state, the private sector and the entire aeronautical and airport sector. of the Dominican Republic, with the support of President Luis Abinader and the Minister of Tourism David Collado.”
After highlighting the importance of the tourism industry for the Dominican Republic, he recalled that one of the first initiatives of the current government was to create the tourism cabinet with the participation of the public and private sectors, which allowed the country to overcome the challenges associated to the covid-19 pandemic in this area of the economy.
He explained that as a result of the shared management strategy put into practice by President Abinader, the country was one of the first in the region to control the impact of the pandemic, establishing a gradual plan to return to normality and create from the government incentives for domestic tourism and the reopening of large hotels.
“These initiatives were followed by the restart of airport operations with the launch of an aggressive campaign aimed at international tour operators and the main source markets for Dominican tourism, under the direction of Minister David Collado and with the support of the hotel association. and tourism, Asonahores”, said Porcella, highlighting that the effort launched by the government under the teamwork scheme motivated the world tourism organization, Unwto, to declare the Dominican Republic as the number 1 country in recovery. of tourism, while the Latin American and Caribbean Air Traffic Association, Alta, will certify in 2022 that the Dominican Republic was already leading the recovery of air traffic throughout the region, exceeding the growth levels of air traffic by 16 percent. with respect to the year 2019.
Main topics of the Symposium
Discussions are also focused on the “Finvest Hub” initiative, proposed by Icao, which emphasizes the need to increase collaboration between the aviation sector and financial institutions, to meet the goal of decarbonizing aviation by 2050.