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AACO assembly convenes in Jeddah

JEDDAH, Nov 30 (KUNA) -- The 48th session of the general assembly of the Arab Air Carriers Organization (AACO) opened on Sunday night in synchronization with organization's golden jubilee celebrations.
In his inaugural speech to the gathering, Assistant Secretary-General of the Arab League for Economic Affairs Dr. Mohammad bin Ibrahim Al-Tweijri commended the AACO for its dedication to serving as umbrella organization for the Arab airlines.
"Since its inception in 1965, the Organization has launched a lot of programs of the Arab joint action for protecting the interests of Arab airlines and maintaining the air safety standards.
"These programs helped build the capacity of human resources and served the travelers in keeping with the internationally-recognized standards," he said.
Dr. Al-Twejri noted that the Organization serves as a regional system that contributes to the realization of the ultimate goal of Arab economic integration particularly after this goal took a great momentum from the establishment of the Greater Arab Free Trade Area (GAFTA).
On his part, CEO of the Saudi Arabian Airlines Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser said the AACO plays a vital role in promoting cooperation among the Arab airlines and keeping abreast with the accelerated developments in the air industry.
"The regional Organization has become an active international player that was able to set the standards of negotiations with its peers from the European Union and other parts of the world," Al-Jasser pointed out.
"It speaks for the Arab League member countries at international forums relating to cooperation in aviation, marketing, e-commerce, air safety and training," he added.
Meanwhile, AACO Secretary-General Abdulwahab Toffaha said the Organization plays a growing role in bringing the peoples of Arab countries close to each other.
"The number of travelers among the Arab countries doubled many times from three million in 1965 to 185 million this year," he noted.
"The numbers of Arab air carriers and airliners also grew from 13 and 18 respectively in 1965 to 31 carriers and 1,200 airliners currently," Toffaha added.
The agenda of AACO Assembly meeting includes, inter alia, debates on reports of the technical committee, the steering committee, the executive committee and the work team as well as future plan for improvement of aviation in the Middle East region. (end) nh.gb