The Kingdom to host 15th International Conference on Air Services Negotiations

27 November 2023

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, represented by the General Authority of Civil Aviation, is hosting the 15^th edition of the International Conference on Air Services Negotiations (ICAN) 2023, affiliated with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), in the capital, Riyadh, from 3 - 7 December. Over 100 countries and international organizations are expected to participate with more than 700 experts and specialists in the field of civil aviation.

The ICAN conference has been made possible by the generous sponsorship and support from the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and His Highness the Crown Prince and the Kingdom’s pioneering position in developing and growing the air transport industry to achieve the highest levels of safetyand security in this industry.

The ICAN conference, the largest international event of its kind providing a platforms for bilateral or multilateral negotiations and discussions on air transport affairs and services andn facilitating links between regulators, air operators and related service providers to this end.

Alongside the conference a number of prominent regional meetings have been schedules, including the 68th meeting of the Executive Council of the Arab Civil Aviation Organization, and the extraordinary meeting of the General Secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries in the presence of the heads of civil aviation authorities in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

The conference will open in the presence of His Excellency the Minister of Transport and Logistics Services, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Authority of Civil Aviation, Engineer Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser, His Excellency the President of the General Authority of Civil Aviation, Mr. Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al-Duailej, and heads of civil aviation authorities from various participating countries. A ceremony to distribute the Facilities Award will also be hosted by the General Civil Aviation Authority, on December 7, 2023 in line with the celebration of World Civil Aviation Day.

According to His Excellency the President of the General Authority of Civil Aviation, the ICAN 2023 conference will serve as a global platform for air transport negotiations and investment opportunities available in the Kingdom, in line with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030 and the National Strategy for Transport and Logistics to increase the Kingdom’s air connectivity from 99 destinations to more than 250 destinations through 29 airports, and increasing annual passenger traffic threefold to reach 330 million passengers as well as establishing two global hubs for international air connectivity, and increasing air cargo capacity to 4.5 million tons.

The Kingdom provides civil aviation organizations and bodies regionally and internationally with financial, moral and logistical support to advance the industry in the world through its participation as council member, chairmanship and executive membership of a number of committees representing the work of the organization. Furthermore, notable contribution to the development of the organization through a most recent generous one million US dollar donation to the International Civil Aviation Organization initiative “Leaving No Country Behind”. The Kingdom is also focussed on strengthening efforts aimed at supporting the development of Human resources in the sector, raising the level of civil aviation security, as well as encouraging a culture of safety among aviation service providers.