Liow meeting European Commissioner for Transport, Violeta Bulc, at the Summit in Singapore. Bernamapix
SINGAPORE: Malaysia is committed to reduce carbon footprint for the aviation sector, said Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.
He said environmental sustainability and stronger collaborations with the European Union (EU) were among the key discussion points raised by Malaysia at the Singapore Airshow Aviation Leadership Summit (SAALS) 2016.
"Malaysia has pledged its support for this effort, while ensuring that the measures are in line with our national policy on reduction of greenhouse gas emissions," he said in a statement here.
"This is in line with the proposal by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to address the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions via the Global Market-Based Measures (GMBM) by international aviation participants," he said.
To this end, Liow said Malaysia would be participating in the upcoming Global Aviation Dialogues scheduled for March 2016 to further deliberate the concept and application of the draft policy.
The minister noted that the initiatives under the GMBM include aircraft technologies, operational improvements, a GMBM scheme and sustainable alternative fuels that provide environmental benefits within the aviation sector.
He said international cooperation was vital to ensure continuous progress for the nation's civil aviation sector.
During the summit, Liow said Malaysia expressed its commitment to fully explore and support the Comprehensive Air Transport Agreement between the EU and Asean.
The agreement is aimed at strengthening Asean-EU cooperation on civil aviation with a view towards promoting air travel between the two regions and enhancing aviation safety and security, he said.
"Given that Malaysia is one of the leading players in Asean's growing aviation sector, which will subsequently contribute to the economic growth of the region, we hope the agreement will be finalised soon as it is expected to bring about economic benefits to the country and Asean," he said.
Additionally, Liow said during a forum with Dr Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu, president of the Council of the ICAO, Malaysia reiterated its commitment with regards to compliance to the ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPS) as an important effort to ensure safety and security within the aviation ecosystem.
In supporting ICAO's initiative of 'No Country Left Behind', Liow said Malaysia previously signed MoUs with Latin American Civil Aviation Commission and African Civil Aviation Commission, as well as the Cooperation Agreement with the European Civil Aviation Conference, under which Malaysia has committed to providing skills development and training to aviation personnel in these regional blocs, particularly SARPS courses under the Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme.
The courses conducted by the Malaysia Aviation Academy (MavA) has been nominated as an aviation training centre for training of aviation personnel around the world.
Liow said Malaysia would continue supporting efforts and measures put forth by the ICAO as it strives to constantly improve the standards of civil aviation globally. - Bernama
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