MOU signed to provide fellowships and training for aviation professionals
Singapore and Latin America will deepen civil aviation collaboration to support the revival of air travel and the rebuilding of international aviation. On 23 March 2022, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and the Latin American Civil Aviation Commission (LACAC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to expand training cooperation and to equip aviation professionals with new competencies to meet new international aviation requirements arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Under the MOU, the CAAS will provide fellowships to aviation professionals from LACAC member States to undergo training in Singapore as well as conduct training programmes in Latin America, in core areas including civil aviation and airport management, aviation safety, and security and accident investigation. The MOU was signed by the Director-General of CAAS, Han Kok Juan, and President of LACAC, Armando Daniel, at the sidelines of the 24th LACAC Assembly in Montevideo, Uruguay.
The LACAC comprises 22 Latin American member States, namely Argentina, Aruba, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela. The CAAS-LACAC MOU was first signed in 1998. In the last 25 years, Singapore has given out close to 160 fellowships and trained over 1,000 Latin American aviation professionals at the Singapore Aviation Academy (SAA), the training arm of the CAAS. In 2020 and 2021, training was disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic and had to be conducted virtually. Â
Director-General of CAAS, Han Kok Juan, said, “The gathering of the Directors-General of Civil Aviation of the Latin America States and Singapore and the signing of the MOU physically in-person marks a significant milestone in the restoration of Singapore-Latin America civil aviation collaboration which has been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is also timely as the new training programmes will help aviation leaders distil the lessons learnt from COVID-19 and acquire new skills to navigate challenges and seize opportunities as they rebuild their respective aviation sectors. Singapore is deeply committed to supporting global human capital development and developing future leaders of aviation. We are happy to be able to work with LACAC Member States to do so through the signing of this MOU.”
President of LACAC, Armando Daniel said, “As president of the Latin American Civil Aviation Commission, I want to acknowledge the long tradition of understanding between our Commission and the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore by highlighting the following actions: the signing of a Memorandum on February 25, 1998, that established the terms for a fellowship program. Since then, each year Singapore has offered a series of fellowships in different specialities to aviation professionals in Latin America and the Caribbean. These courses have been taught by the best experts in the world, in the fields of Air Navigation, Safety Oversight and Air Transport Management, among others, and they have not only covered aviation subjects, but they have also served to better understand our cultures and customs from our own history.”
