The Gulf country Qatar has won the membership of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Council for the first time in history , and the International recognition comes just in time , when Qatar braces up to welcome the world in it's soil for the FIFA World Cup within 46 Days !
Much has happened to Qatar and it's National Carrier involving Avition in Recent times — Name it the famous Blockade on Qatar, Legal battle with Airbus , Formation of Doha FIR , Qatar Airways GCEO being appointed as chairman of Oneworld Alliance , Qatar Airways and Doha International Airport (DIA) retaining the top Skytrax ratings , or the Current ICAO membership , the Country is growing in Aviation Industry.
Qatar's News channels and Agencies are quite excited by the development , as they describe the moment as historic , that was witnessed by 193 countries attending the 41st Session of the ICAO Assembly in Montreal, Canada.
The membership will be for the next three years (2023-2025) on Group C. On Tuesday , Qatar achieved a landslide victory in elections and garnered 160 votes, making it one of the highest-scoring candidates on Group C ; something that emphasizes the country’s significant contributions and efforts in civil aviation industry.
Following the announcement, Minister of Transport Jassim Saif Ahmed Al-Sulaiti said that Qatar’s winning of an ICAO Council membership emphasizes the country’s ranking and recognition at international fora, regionally and globally; under the leadership of HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani.
He said it also reflects ICAO Member States’ confidence that Qatar is capable of significantly contributing to finding solutions to the aviation industry’s current and future challenges.
The result, he added, was also a fruit of the massive work that the country has done for long to develop its civil aviation sector, and which receives tireless and unlimited support from the government, until that critical sector has become world-renowned.
Echoing the same sentiment, Qatar’s Assistant Foreign Minister for Regional Affairs Dr. Mohammed Al Khulaifi said Doha’s ICAO membership
“attaches special importance to the role played by specialised UN agencies.”
“It also always affirms its readiness to actively contribute to ICAO’s work in the field of international civil aviation safety and security. The election of the country today as a member of the Council is an expression of the confidence of the international community to play this role,” tweeted Al Khulaifi.
Apart from Qatari delegation headed by Minister Al-Sulaiti , Qatar Airways GCEO Mr. Akbar Al Baker , who is also the chairman of Oneworld Alliance , can be seen as 'instrumental' bringing up Qatar's Contribution and Image in Global Aviation map, with the help of Government Machinery.
A near Impossible task for achievement , but a Reality by Now - Qatar’s latest victory comes almost two months since it signed an agreement with its neighbours over the activation of the Doha Flight Information Region (FIR), the country’s own airspace.
The Gulf State had signed the agreement with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the UAE following a similar deal inked between Doha and Tehran in April.
The agreements represented a crucial step in the execution of the International ICAO’s decision in March this year over the establishment of Qatar’s FIR.
The FIR enables the Gulf state to expand its current sovereign airspace into the United Arab Emirates, Iran, and Bahrain, while achieving safe and sustainable air transport operations in the region.
The airspace is the first to ever be established for Qatar, redrawing the skies of the world’s airspace map for the first time in decades. The Doha FIR shrinks Bahrain’s airspace and extend to the UAE and north towards Iran.
This is a Paradigm shift , very much in favour of Qatar, and the formation of the Doha FIR forces 70% of flights heading to the UAE will pass through Qatar’s airspace.
With a new FIR of its own, Qatar gains much-needed airspace independence, and the country will have the ability to maximise the efficiency of air travel around Qatar in order to better meet its air travel sustainability goals.
Minister Al-Sulaiti thanked heads and members of all delegations participating in the 41st ICAO Assembly for their confidence and backing of Qatar’s membership bid. He also appreciated the great efforts of work teams from all entities.
Pictures Credit : Qatar Ministry of Transport .
