Juan Carlos Salazar begins mandate as new ICAO secretary general

2021-08-01 23:35:35 GMT2021-08-02 07:35:35(Beijing Time) Xinhua English

MONTREAL, Canada, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Juan Carlos Salazar of Colombia officially assumed the office of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Secretary General on Sunday, succeeding Fang Liu of China, according to ICAO.

He assumed this role as CEO of the UN's specialized agency for civil aviation as the international flight network continues to assure the efficient global movement of food, vaccines, e-commerce, and other essential supplies and personnel, despite the air transport industry still being severely confronted by COVID-19, greatly diminished routes, and slowly rebounding international air travel and tourism.

"It is a great honor to be assuming this role at this time, and to have the opportunity to help governments and ICAO play an important part in how this sector builds back better and recovers from the global pandemic," Salazar said. "We are still facing some tremendous challenges to the restoration of global air connectivity today, and with many regions and populations all over the world facing prolonged economic, social, and emotional hardship as a result."

He promised to further strengthen ICAO's global presence through its regional offices and support for key regional priorities and to assure those special efforts are undertaken through the organization to support developing states that have suffered the most devastating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Salazar is a former director general of civil aviation for Colombia and speaks fluent Spanish, English, French, and basic Arabic. He has more than 26 years of experience in civil aviation, public policy, and the management of large and complex organizations.

Salazar was appointed ICAO secretary general in February of this year by the ICAO Council, after its comprehensive assessment of a number of international candidates.

ICAO was established by governments in 1944 to support their diplomacy on international air transport matters. Since that time, countries have adopted over 12,000 standards and practices through ICAO which help to align their national regulations relevant to aviation safety, security, efficiency, capacity and environmental protection, enabling a truly global network to be realized. Enditem

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