Sudan and South Sudan signed an agreement on Friday which will help South Sudan in taking greater responsibility for the air navigation services obligations over its territory.

The new deal signed at International Civil Aviation Organization headquarters in Montréal during the UN agency’s 39th Assembly, was signed by Sudan’s Director General of Civil Aviation, Ahmed Satti Abdelrahman Bajouri, and South Sudan’s Acting Civil Aviation Chief Executive Officer in the presence of Minister for Transport John Luk.

The new agreements facilitated by the ICAO Eastern and Southern African and the Middle East Regional Offices and officials from the Organization’s Air Navigation Bureau, allow the two Sudans to address critical communications and surveillance requirements, and cover the installation of new air navigation infrastructure in South Sudan.

 “This agreement helps to highlight how air transport cooperation continues to bring nations and peoples together to their common benefit,” said ICAO Council President Dr. Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu.

Dr. Benard Aliu and ICAO Secretary General Dr. Fang Liu were present for the ceremony along with attending Sudanese, South Sudanese and ICAO senior officials.

“ICAO’s Regional Offices have become more and more important in helping to assure that our Organization’s priorities for assistance and capacity building are as targeted and effective as possible,” Dr. Liu said.

 “And we will be working closely with our Sudanese and South Sudanese partners to ensure they realize as many benefits as possible from their new cooperation,” he added.

A preliminary transition plan to be monitored by ICAO was also agreed to establish a new Flight Information Region (FIR) under the operational responsibility of South Sudan.

The two countries also agreed to establish a South Sudan-Sudan Implementation Monitoring Team (SSIMT) that will be composed of representatives from the two sides, neighbouring countries, specialists from ICAO Regional Offices and the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

A revised route structure to support more efficient operations over Sudan and South Sudan, as well as eventual flight information boundary adjustments was also agreed upon.

The specialized UN agency ICAO was created in 1944 to promote the safe and orderly development of international civil aviation throughout the world. It sets standards and regulations necessary for aviation safety, security, efficiency, capacity and environmental protection.

File photo: Sudan’s Director General of Civil Aviation, Ahmed Satti Abdelrahman Bajouri, and South Sudan’s Acting Civil Aviation Chief Executive Officer, David Subek Dada