Sri Lanka at 39th tri-annual assembly of ICAO

Ahmed A. Jawad, Representative of Sri Lanka to the ICAO and High Commissioner to Canada at the event

The 39th tri-annual assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) was held in Montreal, Canada from 27 September to 7 October. The Sri Lankan delegation was led by Representative of Sri Lanka to the ICAO and High Commissioner to Canada Ahmed A. Jawad. The ICAO is a UN specialised agency established in 1944 to manage the administration and governance of the Convention on International Civil Aviation also known as the Chicago Convention and comprises 191 member states. Sri Lanka became a member in 1948.

On the side lines, the Sri Lankan delegation had talks with the Canadian delegation to the 39th Assembly. It was agreed in principal to have a fully-fledged Code Share Agreement that would promote enhanced air connectivity between the two countries. An increasing number of Canadian tourists have been visiting Sri Lanka, with 37,732 arrivals in 2015 according to statistics of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB). The Sri Lankan High Commission will be participating at the International Tourism and Travel Show to be held in Montreal from 21-23 October with the assistance of SLTPB, after a number of years.

The Sri Lankan delegation also had extensive consultation with the International Civil Aviation Organisation in regard to the offer made by the Government of Sri Lanka to host the 10th International Commission for Air Navigation (ICAN) meeting in Colombo in 2017. The event is expected to be attended by 700 delegates from 191 ICAO member states.

In addition to High Commissioner Jawad the Sri Lankan delegation comprised Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation Additional Secretary (Aviation) R.M.S.P. Ratnayake, Director General of Civil Aviation and Chief Executive Officer, Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka H.M.C. Nimalsiri, Airport and Aviation Services (SL) Ltd. Vice Chairman K.V. Ranjith De Silva and Aviation Specialist Deannath Kulatunga.