Public Works Minister affirms Lebanon's commitment to international aviation safety, security standards

Caretaker Minister of Public Works and Transport, Ali Hamie, affirmed that Lebanon is committed to international standards for the security and safety of civil aviation, and the investment of the international private sector in the civil aviation sector. 

He stressed from Seoul in South Korea, in the presence of 25 ministers of transport, that "Lebanon has two constants that it is keen on in the world of civil aviation, namely: security and safety of civil aviation in its airspace, which are dealt with based on international standards prepared by the ICAO organization."

He indicated in this context that located at Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport is a center for civil aviation safety that has been working in cooperation with the ICAO since 2002. 

He affirmed that it is "in our continuous endeavor to develop procedures, in terms of development technology, especially at the level of devices and equipment, as well as at the level of developing capabilities for the human element within it, in a manner that is always consistent with international standards, and this issue is for us a firm commitment of the Lebanese state towards those international standards set for the safety and security of international civil aviation. 

Hamie continued by saying that the process of working with the ICAO will start next week to update the air traffic control and management system in the airspace of the airport by replacing it with a new system that takes into account the standards above and is in line with global developments in this regard. 

"Starting from here, our constant and continuous endeavor to work on making the airport more spacious and accommodating to the increasing number of travelers heading to and from Lebanon, as well as working on developing and modernizing ground operations to serve the increase in passenger traffic through it," Hamie affirmed. 

He stressed that this issue is a priority for the Lebanese government, welcoming in this context all the 25 countries participating in the symposium to invest in the Lebanese civil aviation sector. 

Hamie concluded his speech by pointing out that Lebanon is located on a geographic transportation node, which qualifies it to play a pivotal role in geographical communication at the level of civil aviation. 

Accordingly, "we in Lebanon always seek to sign agreements with friendly countries in the East and West alike, to increase civil aviation traffic to and from Lebanon on the one hand, and to encourage foreign companies to adopt Lebanon as a destination and transit station on the other hand."