CAREC Aviation Consultation Workshop

Representatives from the 11 CAREC Program member countries met to discuss CAREC’s potential role in facilitating greater regional cooperation and integration in aviation. Participants included senior transport and civil aviation officials, airline carrier representatives, development partners, and stakeholders.

The Government of Tajikistan chaired the workshop, which carried the theme “Toward Connected Skies: Scoping the Role of CAREC in Enhancing Regional Cooperation in Aviation,” while Asian Development Bank provided organizational and facilitation support.

Key partner organizations for the workshop included the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, Changi Airport Group, and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

The principal finding and decision from the workshop, as articulated in the summary of proceedings, was a call to recognize aviation as a new pillar within the CAREC transport and trade facilitation program.

Currently, the CAREC program includes road transport, road safety, asset management, and railways as key subsector priorities.The Singapore event has helped to bring attention to the significant economic development opportunities from opening air markets and improving efficiencies at international airports for both passenger and freight services.

The Singapore event has helped to bring attention to the significant economic development opportunities from opening air markets and improving efficiencies at international airports for both passenger and freight services.

To date, of the $22 billion invested through CAREC, relatively few projects have been related to air transport. Nevertheless, the landlocked nature of many CAREC countries means that air transport represents an essential mode in regional economic development.

The strategic location of CAREC countries also means that the region holds the potential to serve as a hub for aviation, both in terms of passenger and freight transport.

The final proceedings from the event also included these other recommendations:

  • Improvement in regional air connectivity should be addressed as a system that includes three main dimensions: policy and regulation (including regional agreements), infrastructure and equipment, and operations.
  • The CAREC Secretariat will commission a scoping study in 2017 that will assess and expand on the regional cooperation opportunities in aviation.
  • Each CAREC member country will nominate two focal points for civil aviation.
  • Resource organizations and knowledge partners will be invited to engage in the development of the scoping study and contribute with relevant data and analysis.

The recommendations from the workshop will be reported, for consideration and guidance, to the 16th Transport Sector Coordinating Committee meeting of the CAREC program to be held in May 2017 in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Related Publications

Event Materials

Key Documents

Presentation Materials