[Source: Fiji Government/Facebook]

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Civil Aviation, Viliame Gavoka says Fiji supports the Delhi Declaration and commits to upholding and implementing the principles of safety, security and innovation in the aviation industry.

Gavoka was part of the second Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Civil Aviation that was held in New Delhi India.

He was elected the Deputy Chair of the conference.

The first Conference on Civil Aviation, held in 2018 in China concluded with the Beijing Declaration which paved the way for States to work together to achieve commitments and take necessary action to overcome the challenges of aviation jointly.

This is aligned to Government’s commitment to continue its efforts and cooperation to uphold aviation safety as a key priority.

Gavoka says the Conference was a commitment from the Asia Pacific Region to encourage collaboration on a common platform to harmonize regional aviation growth.

He adds this is reflected in the Delhi Declaration which supersedes the Beijing Declaration and is the setting at a political level for the Asia and Pacific States to declare the vision of the Region to manage aviation safety towards a resilient and dynamic Asia Pacific air transport system post pandemic.

[Source: Fiji Government/Facebook]

Gavoka says Fiji’s State Safety Programme has been a cornerstone of its aviation safety efforts and one of their most pressing issues is the establishment of an independent accident investigation authority.

He stresses they face difficulty particularly in terms of resources and expertise.

The Deputy Prime Minister highlighted the need to seek solutions, including regional partnerships and targeted capacity building initiatives to overcome these obstacles.

He adds the goal for Fiji is clear and that is to ensure that they respond effectively and independently to any aviation incident.

The Conference resulted in renewed commitments covering various pressing aviation challenges, including aviation safety and security, air navigation services, facilitation, gender equality, environmental protection, the resourcing for Civil Aviation, and international Air Law Treaties.

The Conference brought together approximately 250 representatives from 41 countries.