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Implementation of the Lom\u00e9 Declaration is a crucial lever for realising the technological innovation, regulatory reform and investment in infrastructure demanded by Africa\u2019s tremendously promising growth in air cargo, declared the President of the ICAO Council, Dr. Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu.<\/p>\n

The key objective of the Lom\u00e9 Declaration is the unobstructed flow and rapid release of goods through enhanced trade facilitation and custom clearance frameworks. Pointing to the pertinence of progress on its implementation, Dr Aliu highlighted the significance of air cargo\u2019s current and forecasted contributions to Africa\u2019s economy. \u201cIn Africa today, aviation supports millions of jobs and 72 billion dollars in Gross Domestic Product. The importance of air cargo as a key enabler of international trade, especially with respect to high-value and time-sensitive goods, is reflected in the fact that air transport carries around 35 per cent of world trade by value,\u201d he remarked, adding that growth in African freight traffic outpaced the global average last year and that freight capacity offered by African carriers in the region surged by over 20 per cent in 2016.<\/p>\n

Dr. Aliu noted that progress in support of the Declaration should be achieved through the ratification of the 1999 Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air, to which only 56 per cent of African States have adhered, the realisation of the ambitious \u2018E-Trade for All\u2019 initiative, which ICAO <\/a>is undertaking in collaboration with other UN agencies, and the deployment of the Cargo Service Quality Index for measuring freight performance at the airport level, a project that ICAO is developing with the International Air Cargo Association.<\/p>\n

Innovation is particularly crucial as e-commerce trends will continue to be a significant driver of this growth. \u201cThe air cargo share of items purchased online grew from 16% to 74% between 2010 and 2015, and is projected to reach 91% by 2025. The number of parcels flown by air has grown from around 130 million in 2011 to around 400 million in 2015, at a staggering 30 per cent average annual growth rate,\u201d Dr Aliu explained.<\/p>\n

Progress on the implementation of the Lom\u00e9 Declaration furthermore requires enhanced investment in ground infrastructure, aircraft, and human resources. \u201cThe development and modernisation of reliable, quality aviation infrastructure is an important priority under the Lom\u00e9 Action Plan,\u201d Dr. Aliu said. \u201cThe rapid growth of both freight and passenger air traffic is now placing increased pressure on Africa\u2019s airports and air navigation services, with latest projections telling us that no fewer than 24 airports in Africa will have reached their maximum operational capacities by just 2020,\u201d he remarked, noting that ICAO is facilitating States\u2019 commitments in this area through its own World Aviation Forums and its support of the MoveAfrica initiative being led by the New Partnership for Africa\u2019s Development Agency. He urged States and financial institutions to contribute to the ICAO\/AFCAC Human Resources Development Fund, and highlighted the aircraft financing benefits of adherence to the 2001 Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment.<\/p>\n

The President of the ICAO Council also underscored that continued growth would be predicated on a balanced approach to the liberalisation of services.<\/p>\n

Dr. Aliu reiterated that ICAO would continue assisting States as they move forward with all of their regional and national targets, in particular through the No Country Left Behind initiative and with the support of the ICAO Regional Offices in Africa. \u201cICAO will continue to play a leadership role in ensuring that air cargo\u2019s growth benefits your continent, as well as Africa\u2019s States, citizens, industries, trade and economies at large, and we will continue to promote aviation\u2019s wider role in helping your countries achieve many of the AU Agenda 2030 sustainable development goals,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Organized by ICAO in cooperation with the Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority, Ethiopian Airlines and the International Air Cargo Association, the Second Meeting on Air Cargo Development in Africa was opened by His Excellency Mr. Getachew Mengiste, State Minister, Ministry of Public Enterprises of Ethiopia,\u00a0 and was attended by 247 participants representing 21 States, 7 international organisations, and industry stakeholders from Africa, Asia-Pacific, the Caribbean, the Middle East, Europe and North America. Among the main outcomes of the meeting was the adoption of a new Statement on the Implementation of the Lom\u00e9 Declaration, reaffirming commitment to the sustainable development of air cargo in Africa<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all have a role to play in optimising aviation\u2019s benefits for sustainable prosperity here in Africa, and I will look forward to your partnership and commitments as we continue on that journey,\u201d Dr. Aliu concluded.<\/p>\n

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            Implementation of the Lom\u00e9 Declaration is a crucial lever for realising the technological innovation, regulatory reform and investment in infrastructure demanded by Africa\u2019s tremendously promising growth in air cargo, declared the President of the ICAO Council, Dr. Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu. The key objective of the Lom\u00e9 Declaration is the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1360,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/moovafrica.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1358"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/moovafrica.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/moovafrica.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/moovafrica.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/moovafrica.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1358"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/moovafrica.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1358\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1361,"href":"http:\/\/moovafrica.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1358\/revisions\/1361"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/moovafrica.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/moovafrica.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/moovafrica.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/moovafrica.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}