The U.S.-India Aviation Summit in Bengaluru, India, closed November 5th following two days of high-level meetings and discussions between public and private sector leaders from both nations to discuss ways to strengthen the bilateral aviation partnership.
The Summit was co-hosted by the U.S. Trade and Development Agency and India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation, with the support of the U.S.-India Aviation Cooperation Program (ACP).
“The dedication of India’s government to the expansion of their aviation sector has fostered continued growth and created opportunities for U.S. businesses to provide their technology and expertise,” said USTDA Director Leocadia I. Zak.
India’s aviation sector has continued to grow rapidly since the last biennial event was held in 2013. Building on this success, the country’s civil aviation market, currently the world’s ninth largest, is anticipated to require an additional $110 billion in financing to continue to advance India’s diverse aviation expansion and modernization projects through 2020.
During the opening session of the Summit, Director Zak announced that USTDA is partnering with India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation to support its tremendous progress in strengthening its aviation safety and oversight framework.
This project will support sustainable growth in India’s rapidly expanding aviation market, both internationally and domestically, and strengthen economic activity between the United States and India.
The Aviation Summit advanced U.S.-India collaboration in technical, policy and commercial areas. By bringing together key decision makers to discuss a range of important matters such as airspace utilization and air traffic management, airport infrastructure and development financing, aviation security, aviation safety, and general and business aviation development, the Summit strengthened commercial and economic ties between the U.S. and India.
U.S. Ambassador to India Richard Verma told the participants that the U.S. and India cooperate on civil aviation using three key mechanisms -the U.S. – India Aviation Cooperation Program (ACP), through technical assistance the U.S. provides to support best practices and technologies for aviation safety and security, and through information and technology sharing related to countering improvised explosive devices, mutual technical visits, and security best practices through the U.S. Transportation Security Administration.
“Together,” said Ambassador Verma, “we are promoting greater engagement between our governments and the private sector to enhance the civil aviation sector in India."
