The sixth International Civil Aviation Negotiations Conference (Ican), being held from December 8 to 13, in Durban, could produce critical multilateral cooperation in the aviation industry that could further boost jobs and gross domestic product (GDP) growth.
With over 60 participating countries and more than 400 aviation experts attending this year’s conference, negotiations and robust discussions emerging from the five-day event would benefit the global industry and serve as an integral part of the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s strategy, Transport Minister Dipuo Peters said on Monday.
The Minister cited the inaugural Ican conference, held in Dubai in 2008, which saw the gathering of representatives from 27 States from Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and North America, and leading to the conclusion of over 20 air services agreements in a span of three days.
By the fifth conference in 2012, in Saudi Arabia, over 60 States had participated and over 130 agreements had been signed.
Speaking at the opening of this year’s conference, she said that air transport contributed more than $400-billion a year directly to global GDP – a figure that rose to $900-billion when including indirect and induced impacts.
With over two-billion passengers and 45% of interregional exports, by value, now travelling by air, the global sector directly employed in excess of six-million people, and 32-million indirectly.
In Africa, aviation generated more than 500 000 direct and indirect jobs and contributed more than $12-billion a year to GDP.
“If we add sectors such as tourism … then the number of jobs increases to about four-million, and the contribution to GDP increases to over $60-billion. African airlines directly employ over 90 000 people,” Peters noted.