ICAO North American, Central American and Caribbean Regional Office turns 60

At a special anniversary ceremony celebrating the founding of ICAO’s North American, Central American and Caribbean (NACC) Regional Office 60 years ago, Dr. Fang Liu, ICAO’s Secretary General, remarked that the UN agency’s team in Mexico City will continue to make crucial contributions to the development of regional air connectivity over the coming decades.

Similar comments regarding the strategic importance of the Office were expressed in addresses given by Ms. Yuriria Mascott Pérez, the Mexican Ministry of Communications and Transportation’s Subsecretary of Transportation, Mr. Roberto Kobeh González, Lifetime Goodwill Ambassador of ICAO, Lic. Alfonso Sarabia de la Garza, Director of Aeropuertos y Servicios Auxiliares, and Mr. Melvin Cintron, Director of the ICAO NACC Regional Office.

Dr. Liu was accompanied by Mexico’s Permanent Representative to ICAO, Mr. Dionisio Méndez Mayora.

The event was attended by Ministers, Ambassadors, and Directors General of Civil Aviation representing many of the 21 States and 19 Territories to which the NACC Regional Office is accredited.

“The NACC Regional Office is pivotal to the effective coordination of safe, secure and reliable air services, especially in light of the fact that your region is currently responsible for more than 25% of international traffic,” Dr. Liu noted, further expressing ICAO’s very deep appreciation to the Government of Mexico for its generous hosting and support of NACC Office operations since 1957.

Dr. Liu stressed that all of ICAO’s Regional Offices are now better funded and resourced in order to provide more direct assistance to local States.

“It is my firm belief that by giving more responsibility and accountability to Regional Offices for engaging and coordinating directly with States, ICAO can ensure seamless organisational coordination at the global and regional level, which in turn enhances the capabilities of States to reflect their needs and address their specific issues in a regional context,” Dr. Liu said.

“The NACC Office has undertaken significant efforts to enhance its service delivery under this new framework, and to improve cooperation among the many partners it is accredited to here. The Office will make crucial contributions to the successful implementation of ICAO’s Global Plans for Aviation Safety and Air Navigation, our upcoming Global Aviation Security Plan, and the recently adopted Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA).”

NACC Regional Director Cintron echoed this point, concluding “our success over the past 60 years has been predicated on the support of our regional stakeholders and our fostering of cooperation among States, international and regional organisations, and the industry.

Looking forward, the NACC Office will continue to evolve and reinvent itself to ensure our Stakeholders meet and gain from the increasing number of challenges our sector and our region will confront in coming years.”