The UAE General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) have joined forces to establish the Gulf Centre for Aviation Studies (GCAS) in Abu Dhabi.

In a ceremony held at ADAC’s headquarters at Abu Dhabi International Airport, Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi, director general of the GCAA, and Taieb Cherif, secretary general of ICAO, presented Khalifa Al Mazrouei, chairman and managing director of ADAC, with the certificate according the status of the Gulf Centre for Aviation Studies.

“Our achievement today signals a new era in building a national institution that is necessary to advance, promote and protect the national aviation interests of the UAE,” said Al Suwaidi.

'The unprecedented growth of our aviation sector and massive investments in the physical infrastructure require intellectual and policy platforms to protect and advance the objectives of our aviation industry,' he noted.

Dr. Taieb Cherif pointed out that the aviation industry in the Gulf region was growing at unprecedented levels.

'This requires collective and structured efforts amongst all parties in the aviation sector to find solutions to the various new and emerging challenges in civil aviation,” he observed.

“This centre will focus on training, learning, research, studies and symposia and will further work with ICAO to achieving this objective,' he added.

Al Mazrouei stressed that its commitment to host, manage and operate the Gulf Centre for Aviation Studies confirms the importance and necessity for meaningful partnerships between the regulators, industry and international aviation organizations.

'In addition, the GCAS would help in meeting a growing and complex need for a new generation of aviation and airport professionals,' he remrked.

According to him, GCAS will serve as think tank for aviation policy, research and studies in partnership with ICAO, UAE aviation stakeholders, and other key players in the international aviation community, including industry associations.

Jalal Haidar, representative of the UAE to ICAO and an architect of this initiative, said the GCAS launch in the UAE capital underlines the increasingly important role of the country and Abu Dhabi in shaping national, regional and global aviation.

'This partnership between the GCAA, ICAO and ADAC illustrates the central role airports play in the continued development and evolution of the aviation sector, and further confirms the UAE’s leadership within the ICAO,” he stated.

GCAS is fully endorsed by ICAO and will partner with ICAO’s Aviation Training Programme in offering specialized ICAO training in the UAE and the region as a whole.-TradeArabia News Service