The African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC) has committed to collaborating with Liberia to address and rectify the discrepancies identified in the recent International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme – Continuous Monitoring Approach audit results.
This commitment came during the 35th Ordinary Plenary Session of AFCAC, held in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo. AFCAC has prioritized Liberia’s situation and is urging all stakeholders to join forces with the Liberia Civil Aviation Authority (LCAA) to achieve essential safety goals and targets as a matter of urgency.
The Director General of the LCAA, Mr. Julius D. Dennis Jr., has returned to Liberia with a delegation from the plenary session. The delegation also included Mr. Daniel Johnson, the Deputy Secretary General for Administrative Affairs at the Roberts Flight Information Region (RFIR).
The triennial conference, which rotates among member states, dedicated the first two days to the plenary agenda, while the third day focused on celebrating the anniversary of the Yamoussoukro Decision and hosting a High-Level Ministerial Meeting.
On the sidelines of the meeting, Director General Dennis engaged in several bilateral discussions with various delegations, seeking cooperation in training and technical assistance for Liberia’s aviation sector. Notably, he secured a commitment for training assistance from Mr. Bernard Lim, Special Envoy of the Minister for Transport and Senior Director (International Relations and Security) at Singapore’s Ministry of Transport, with plans to finalize the necessary modalities.
Additionally, discussions were held with Eng. Saeed Mohammad Al Suwaidi, the UAE representative at ICAO, where both parties agreed to pursue avenues of cooperation for a Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) between Liberia and the UAE.
Further fruitful discussions took place with Mr. Tarik Talibi, Acting Director-General of the Morocco Civil Aviation Authority; Captain Amir Elsharkawy, Chairman of the Egypt Civil Aviation Authority; Mr. Kwak Young-pil, Senior Director of Air Traffic Management at the Korea Civil Aviation Authority; and Mr. Onuma Toshiyuki, Senior Deputy Director-General of the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau. All parties agreed to continue follow-up actions.
AFCAC serves as the African Union’s specialized agency for civil aviation matters and acts as the Executing Agency for the Yamoussoukro Decision (YD) and the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM). This year’s Ordinary Plenary Session took place from November 26 to 29.
Following the AFCAC meeting, the LCAA delegation, along with Hon. Sirleaf R. Tyler, the Minister of Transport, traveled to Addis Ababa to participate in the inaugural flight of Ethiopian Airlines to Liberia on Saturday, November 30, 2024.
