Egypt’s Ambassador to Canada Ahmed Abu Zeid and Fang Liu, Secretary-General of the Montreal-based International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) held discussions on the impacts of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on global civil aviation.
During the telephone conversation, Abu Zeid sought to discuss the organisation’s role in dealing with the effects of the pandemic on the global civil aviation sector, in addition to the existing cooperation between Egypt and ICAO.
This cooperation comes as part of Egypt’s current membership in the ICAO Executive Council, and its hosting of the ICAO Regional Office’s headquarters in the Middle East.
In a press statement after the meeting, Abu Zeid revealed that the conversation with the ICAO Secretary-General confirmed the severity of the worldwide damage to the civil aviation sector as a result of the pandemic.
He also highlighted the subsequent negative effects that have affected many sectors linked to the civil aviation industry, including tourism and shipping. The production chains associated with all of these sectors have also been severely and negatively impacted by the global health crisis, he noted.
Abu Zeid explained that there are initial indications that some of these sectors are gradually starting to recover, and that this will mainly be related to the ability to control the pandemic in the coming months.
Meanwhile, he explained that he discussed the close cooperation existing between Egypt and the ICAO since the latter’s establishment in 1944. Egypt has, over the years, held an effective and pivotal role in the field of safety and air navigation.
