Directorate General of Civil Aviation of Turkey hosted 10th D-8 Directors-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) meeting in Cappadocia, Turkey from 23-24 May 2016. Mr. Bilal Eksi, Director-General of Civil Aviation of Turkey chaired the meeting. Dr. Seyed AliMohammad Mousavi, the D-8 Secretary-General, addressed the opening of the meeting and hoped for a more effective and result-oriented meeting outcome. 

Dr. Mousavi appreciated DGCA of Turkey for their initiative to take lead in D-8 civil aviation sector. He mentioned that Member States benefitted from sharing their experiences and capacities with one another, especially Turkey that had vibrant and successful airline industry operating round the world. He also mentioned that continuous improvement in aviation was a fundamental criterion to ensuring safe and secure air transport and aviation added to the mobility of not only the people but also the economy. 

Dr. Mousavi said that articulation of concrete cooperation and collaboration programs– possible action plan under Task Forces cooperation and increase in exchange of views and information on the current development and possible projects among D-8 Directors-General Civil Aviation should be discussed by the group. He underscored that a comprehensive action plan would not only put the works in a structured manner, but also would help make best use of available resources. 

The two-day meeting of Civil Aviation Heads included sharing of experiences and best practices, presentation of each other’s aviation capabilities and challenges, review of progress of task forces on Air Navigation and Air Traffic Management, Safety and Security, Training and Capacity Building and Commercial Issues etc. The Secretary-General also appreciated the DGCA of Turkey for their initiative to include industry participants for private sector engagement and looked forward to a more intensive cooperation between private actors in aviation industry of the D-8.