The First Technical Working Group (TWG) and Programme Steering Committee (PSC) Meeting for the Support to the Air Transport Sector Development Programme (SATSD) will be held in Lusaka, Zambia from Tuesday 28 – 29 March and 30 – 31 March 2023.
Th SATSD was established in 2020 to operationalize the Single African Air Transport Market, strengthen the regulatory and institutional capacity of civil aviation institutions in the East African-Southern African and Indian Ocean (EA-SA-IO) region. It is also expected to improve air navigation efficiency in the EA-SA-IO region.
COMESA and the European Union (EU) signed a Grant Contribution Agreement amounting to Euro eight million for the support to SATSD some three years ago.
The TWG and PSC were established in 2021 by the five Regional Economic Communities namely the EAC, COMESA, IGAD, IOC and SADC as part of the Governance Structures of the SATSD Programme. The PSC provides oversight, monitoring of implementation, development of synergies and complementarities with other actions and guidance to ensure attainment of the objectives while the TWG provides technical assistance and advice regarding execution, monitoring, evaluation and information management during the programme implementation.
Air transport has become a catalyst for economic development and a vital engine of global socio-economic growth. It opens and connects markets, facilitates trade, enables industries to link into global supply chains. Experts state that it also plays a pivotal role in just-in-time global manufacturing production as well as in speeding the transportation of perishable produce from agricultural communities to global markets.
COMESA and its partners state that air connectivity has become an important value chain that stimulates air transport and economic development. Enhanced air connectivity therefore helps to raise productivity, encourages investment and innovation, improves business operations and efficiency.
“Achieving sustainable economic development in Africa is highly dependent on the development of air transport and enhancement of air connectivity with the continent,” the RECs state.