The work of the 19th Meeting of the Middle East Air Navigation Planning and Implementation Regional Group and the 9th Meeting of the Regional Aviation Safety Group began Monday in the capital city of Riyadh. The meetings is organized by the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) and in cooperation with the Regional Office of the International Civil Aviation Organization in the Middle East (ICAO MID). The participants included officials of civil aviation authorities in the member states, representatives of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the Arab Civil Aviation Organization (ACAO), the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in the Middle East, and a number of international aviation industry organizations. The meeting was inaugurated on behalf of GACA President by Executive Vice President for Safety and Aviation Standards Capt. Suleiman Bin Saleh Al Muhaimidi, where he welcomed the participants from representatives of international organizations and bodies and member states in the regional office, hoping that the meeting would yield the best experiences and practices in the field of navigation and air safety in civil aviation. Furthermore, he added, that GACA will be benefiting from the expertise and cadres, establishing the highest levels of air safety, and be educated on the latest developments in the regional aviation and aviation safety group in the Middle East and North Africa. Al-Muhaimidi stressed that the Kingdom has adhered and continues to adhere to the recommended rules and practices of the Chicago Convention and its appendices in national legislation and regulations. Further, the Kingdom has also supported the organization by various technical and material means to contribute to achieving the organization"s strategic goals for safe and effective international civil aviation. The Kingdom has also contributed to the implementation of the global air navigation plan and the global aviation safety plan at the regional level by hosting the Regional Safety Oversight Organization in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA RSOO), and the Cooperative Aviation Security Program (CASP-MID) in the capital city of Riyadh. This demonstrates the Kingdom’s commitment to the development of international civil aviation, in addition to that the Kingdom is a major supporter of the “No County Left Behind” initiative (NCLB), which aims to enhance the safety, security and efficiency of air navigation in countries when needed. He went on to say, that the Kingdom hosted the headquarters of the Regional Safety Oversight Organization in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA RSOO) and supported its establishment and operation with an amount of $1.5 million and dedicated various means to assist this organization in playing its role at the regional and international levels. This as well as assisting countries in the region to implement both the state safety program and aviation safety management system. The Regional Director of the International Civil Aviation Organization for the Middle East (ICAO MID), Eng. Mohammed Al-Farea, Head of the Regional Group for Planning and Implementation of Air Navigation Adel Brosley, and Head of the Regional Group for Air Safety Jihad Al-Faqir all thanked the Kingdom for the warm reception and good organization. They praised the Kingdom’s active and pioneering role in the field of civil aviation and for its adoption and its continuous support for ICAO’s initiatives, programs and its strategic objectives internationally and regionally, which is evident in its generous support for ICAO’s (No Country Left Behind) initiatives and its hosting of the regional headquarters of the Regional Safety Oversight Organization for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA RSOO). The four-day meeting aims to ensure the continuous and coherent development of international civil aviation in the Middle East region and related to neighboring regions, in accordance with the international rules and recommendations issued by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the Global Air Navigation Plan for Air Navigation Systems and Air Traffic Management. The meeting will also facilitate and coordinate the implementation of providing air navigation services in a manner that ensures safety, regularity and efficiency in the Middle East region. Moreover, identifies deficiencies to be addressed in the field of air navigation services in the Middle East region. The meeting also aims to assist the Regional Office of the International Civil Aviation Organization in the Middle East in promoting the implementation of the regional air navigation plan, coordinating safety risk matters with the regional aviation safety group in the Middle East, as well as studying human resource planning and training issues and proposing technical human resources development capabilities in the region when needed in line with the regional plan for the Middle East. The meeting dealt with several axes, including, reviewing and discussing the latest international developments in the field of air navigation, the outcomes of the International Aviation Safety Conference 2021 and the effects of the Corona pandemic on the aviation sector. Furthermore, it dealt with the outputs of regional work teams in the field of air navigation, airports, environment and meteorology, in addition to the preparations of the Middle East region to manage the flow of air traffic for the 2022 World Cup event in Qatar. It is worth noting that that the international civil aviation sector works on the principle of cooperation between the contracting states with the organization, where the contracting states implement their international obligations to enhance the safety and efficiency of the aviation sector to achieve sustainable growth in an integrated manner among the member states in the Middle East region as well as between the neighboring regions. — SG