The event, would, among other objectives, to connect professionals from all areas in the aviation industry to examine human capital needs in the African aviation and aerospace industries, is under the auspices of the Ministry of Aviation in collaboration with 4M Events, based in Dubai.

The Minister of Aviation, Mrs CecIlia Abena Dapaah, yesterday inaugurated a 25-member local organising committee to oversee the event which is expected to attract delegates from all parts of the world.

Membership

The committee has representatives from the Aviation Ministry, the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority, the Ghana Airports Company Limited, the Ministries of Tourism and Foreign Affairs, the Ghana Immigration Service and the Ghana Armed Forces.

The rest are National Security, the Ghana Police Service, State Protocol, Port Health, the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority, Air Traffic Control and the private sector.

Aviation hub

The minister in her inaugural remarks said the ministry was to make Ghana the aviation hub of West Africa for which reason it was important for such an event to be organised to showcase the different opportunities available in the aviation sector in the country.

She said the aviation industry in the country had seen a boost in recent times, a development she attributed to the liberalised aviation policies, the stable political climate and the conducive business environment.

“There is, therefore, the need for us as a country to be abreast of technology to meet the dynamic demands in the aviation sector globally,” Mrs Dapaah added.

She said the expo would thus provide a forum for interaction among stakeholders and prospective investors in line with the government’s policy of public private partnership in the development of the country’s aviation infrastructure and services.

Mrs Dapaah expressed the ministry’s commitment to partner with M4 Events to organise the exhibition successfully.

Expectation

Mrs Dapaah urged the committee to bring members’ invaluable expertise from their various backgrounds to bear on the event since they were identified as important personalities with the requisite experiences to organise the Air Expo.

“The task ahead is enormous, yet the resources are limited. I will, therefore, implore you to come up with very pragmatic and innovative ideas to ensure that the event is not only successful but an event to be remembered in the annals of the aviation sector in Ghana and Africa,” the minister charged the committee.

The Chairperson of the committee, Mrs Joyce Bannerman Wood, thanked the minister for the confidence reposed in members and said the committee would acquit itself well in the organisation of the expo.