MAY
The Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport is hosting the 66th session of the Executive Office of the Council of Arab Transport Ministers in its branch in the Smart Village
Academy President: We are committed to our duty towards all that we are assigned to do, whether from the Council or the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States
Abdul Ghaffar: The ultimate goal of the Academy is to meet the needs of our Arab society in terms of productive and effective human elements in order to advance our homeland and achieve sustainable development
The Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport branch hosted today, Thursday, May 27, 2021, in the Smart Village, the 66th session of the Executive Office of the Council of Arab Transport Ministers.
The meetings of the Executive Office of the Council of Arab Ministers of Transport were chaired by Lieutenant General Engineer Kamel Al-Wazir - Minister of Transport in the Arab Republic of Egypt, Ambassador Dr. Kamal Hassan Ali, Assistant Secretary General, Head of Economic Affairs at the League of Arab States, and HE Dr. Dina Al-Zahir - Director of the Department of Transport and Tourism at the League of States His Excellency Prof. Dr. Ismail Abdel Ghaffar Ismail Farag, President of the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport, with the participation of the Minister of Transport in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and His Excellency the Minister of Transport in the United Arab Emirates and in the presence and senior officials of the Ministries of Transport in Bahrain, Djibouti, Palestine, Tunisia, Algeria and Libya Members of the Executive Office of the Council of Ministers Arab transport, heads and directors of Arab organizations and federations concerned with land and sea transport, through video conference technology.
At the beginning of the meeting, the Egyptian Minister of Transport conveyed all the appreciation and affection of the Egyptian people, who are always proud of their belonging to their Arab nation and work to advance and elevate it, expressing his great appreciation to the honorable Arab ministers of transport, heads and members of delegations for participating in the work of this session remotely and discussing the topics and issues presented under circumstances Difficult and unprecedented challenges imposed by the threat of the new Corona virus, which has had repercussions on human life and all aspects of economic and social life, those challenges that have imposed the solidarity of everyone, locally and internationally, in order to overcome its effects.
The Minister also thanked the Secretary-General of the Arab League and the Assistant Secretary for Economic Affairs for the good preparation for today`s meeting, as well as the technical committees for land, sea and multimodal transport concerned with studying the topics on the agenda to reach the desired results.
For his part, Ambassador Kamal Hassan Ali, Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Affairs at the League of Arab States said that this session is held in exceptional circumstances in which the transport sector, like all economic sectors, suffered greatly, and the sectors most affected by this epidemic have been greatly affected at the level of maritime, land, air and rail transport.
Ali expressed his hope that recommendations and decisions would be reached that would cover all the items of the draft agenda and would benefit all Arab countries.
Ali added that the recommendations issued by the 66th session of the Executive Office of the Council will be submitted to the next session of the Council of Arab Transport Ministers (October 2021) to consider adopting them and work accordingly.
In turn, Dr. Dina Al-Zahir, Director of the Department of Transport and Tourism at the League of Arab States, said that the Executive Office, in its current session, is discussing a number of issues that contribute to activating joint Arab action and related to the Arab transport sector in its various types: land, sea, and air.
In the field of land transport: some amendments are discussed in the agreement to regulate transit transport between the amended Arab countries, and a proposal submitted by the Arab Republic of Egypt to consider establishing an Arab electronic platform for road transport on roads between Arab countries that serves the parties to the trade process.
In the field of maritime transport: the office is considering the final version of the draft agreement regulating the maritime transport of passengers and goods between Arab countries, in preparation for submitting it to the Council of Arab Transport Ministers for consideration for approval.
Al-Zahir added: The Executive Office also discussed a number of studies and terms of reference submitted by the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport, the most important of which is a pilot study on a proposal to establish national maritime gatherings in the Arab countries, and to consider adopting the draft terms of reference to study the establishment of a joint Arab mechanism to support the repair and shipbuilding industry. In the Arab countries, as well as the draft terms of reference for creating a database serving this industry.
In the field of air transport, the Executive Office discussed a proposal submitted by the Arab Civil Aviation Organization, the Arab Air Transport Association and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) regarding a joint approach by the Council of Arab Transport Ministers with the Council of Arab Health Ministers to support the relaunch and recovery of the Arab air transport sector, similar to what is followed in European Union member states and the decision of the Council of Arab Health Ministers in this regard.
Professor Ismail Abdel Ghaffar Ismail Farag, President of the Academy, said: We welcome you to the activities of the Executive Office meeting of the Council of Arab Transport Ministers.
He added: The Academy, under the direction of the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States, during the past years, hosted the meetings of the technical ministerial councils of the League of Arab States, as one of the technical arms of the League of Arab States.
Abdul Ghaffar pointed out that the ultimate goal of the Academy is to meet the needs of our Arab society in terms of productive and effective human elements in order to advance our homeland and achieve sustainable development so that good returns to our peoples and prosperity.
Abdel Ghaffar expressed his hope that the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport would continue to help and support the Arab brothers in all fields, as the Academy has a lot of capabilities through its specialized colleges and institutes that have developed during the course of the year.