CARICOM Ministers, regional institutions and international partners will convene in Georgetown on 1 October for the Caribbean High-Level Symposium on Aviation Safety, where they are expected to adopt a Georgetown Declaration and agree on a roadmap of priority actions to strengthen aviation safety across the Community.
The Caribbean High-Level Symposium on Aviation Safety will take place at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre. It is being convened by the CARICOM Secretariat in collaboration with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
The one-day Symposium will follow the ICAO/EASA Third Global Forum of Regional Safety Oversight Organisations and Regional Accident and Incident Investigation Organisations, which the Government of Guyana will host, under the auspices of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority, from 29 to 30 September.
Guided by the theme “Strengthening Caribbean Aviation Safety: Regional Cooperation, Resilient Oversight and Sustainable Capacity Development”, the Symposium will seek agreement on practical measures to strengthen aviation safety oversight across the Region, deepen cooperation, and coordinate capacity development, financing and implementation.
At the centre of the discussions is the Caribbean Aviation Safety and Security Oversight System (CASSOS), the Community’s principal mechanism for strengthening regional aviation safety oversight. CASSOS supports Member States in meeting their international obligations, improving and strengthening regulatory effectiveness and safety performance, and advancing the conditions necessary for an efficient single market for air transport services across the Community.
“Effective aviation safety oversight is fundamental to safe and sustainable air transport and to advancing the Region’s single market. This Symposium is about moving from challenges to practical action, with a Declaration that Member States, CASSOS and our partners can take forward together,” said Dr. Pauline Yearwood, Programme Manager, Transportation, Directorate of Economic Integration, Innovation and Development, CARICOM Secretariat.
The Symposium will open with the presentation of the Draft CASSOS Roadmap and Action Matrix to 2035, together with a review of the outcomes of the Global Forum. Subsequent sessions will examine the sustainability of Caribbean civil aviation authorities, progress towards harmonised civil aviation regulations across Member States, and the role of effective safety oversight in supporting an efficient single market for air transport under the CARICOM Multilateral Air Services Agreement.
A Ministerial Roundtable will bring Ministers with responsibility for air transportation and senior officials together to examine the challenges, opportunities and priorities shaping the future of Caribbean aviation safety. These high level and senior aviation decision makers will also engage strategic partners on support for resilient, safe and sustainable aviation and consider perspectives from the aviation industry.
Discussions will also address emerging risks and priorities for safety oversight, the evolving role of CASSOS in supporting Member States’ implementation of ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices, and sustainable approaches to financing and governance for regional aviation safety oversight.
