Kagame cautions on protectionism as 'short-sighted policy' toward African integration
Kigali, Rwanda (PANA) - Rwandan President Paul Kagame on Wednesday stressed the importance of attracting more countries to join the Single African Air Transport Market, and noted that protectionism among "ourselves" is a short-sighted policy, which only serves to keep the continental market fragmented, inefficient, and expensive.
Speaking at the opening session of the 2019 Aviation Africa Conference and Exhibition in Kigali, Kagame noted that removal of barriers on the movement of goods and people, means there will be a steady increase of demand for commercial air services in the years ahead.
The 4th edition of the two-day conference has attracted more than 700 international and regional aviation personalities, air traffic experts and representatives of 118 airlines and bodies specialised in civil aviation fields around the world.
Noting some achievements made in the African civil aviation industry over the past year, such as the adoption of the Single African Air Transport Market, President Kagame said that the full promise of this pact only becomes apparent in the wider context of the African Continental Free Trade Area, and the Protocol on the Free Movement of Persons, which were also signed last year.
"Sixteen countries in Africa are landlocked including Rwanda but every country is “air-linked” ... so geography should not be seen as an excuse for underdevelopment," he said.
Official reports indicate that currently 28 African Union (AU) member states are in the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM), covering more than 700 million people.
The African Union (AU) Commission has set the target to have at least 40 member states join the SAATM by the end of 2019.
The successful establishment and operationalisation of the SAATM is vital to achieve the AU's long-term vision of an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, in line with the blueprint for an Integrated Approach to Implement Agenda 2063.
SAATM would enable airlines the fifth freedom rights, which allow airlines to carry traffic to a third country, provided the flight originates or terminates in the partner country.
-0- PANA TWA/AR 27Feb2019
