The 13th Director Generals and Experts Meeting of the Civil Aviation Working Group of the Organization of the Eight Developing Countries (D-8) was held in Antalya on 12-13 November 2024, hosted by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation of the Republic of Türkiye, with the participation of the representatives of the member countries.

 

The meeting commenced with opening speeches of Director General of Civil Aviation Prof. Dr. Kemal YUKSEK and Secretary General of the D-8 Ambassador H.E. Isiaka Abdulkadir IMAM, The work of task forces aimed at strengthening cooperation among member countries in the field of civil aviation was evaluated and the existing cooperation framework was reviewed.

 

During the meeting, new steps to facilitate air transportation among D-8 countries and the development of a multilateral air transport agreement were discussed. Member countries exchanged information and experiences on liberalizing traffic rights, improving aviation safety standards and accelerating technological and digital transformation in aviation training and capacity building. Countries exchanged views on the unlimited definition of 3rd and 4th traffic rights for scheduled flights, but as no consensus has yet been reached on this issue, they decided to revisit the issue in the future depending on the change of country positions.

 

At the conclusion of the meeting, it was decided to work on specific projects and joint initiatives to make the future cooperation among the member countries more efficient, and the belief that the existing cooperation and solidarity among the D-8 countries will contribute to the development of the civil aviation sector was emphasized.