Mr. Oumarou Malam Alma, Minister of Transport of the Republic of Niger, Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of ASECNA and Dr. Ernest NSABIMANA, Minister of Infrastructure of Rwanda signed on March 30 in Kigali, the official act which consecrates the entry of Rwanda into the Agency for Air Navigation Safety in Africa and Madagascar.
The document, initialed in the presence of the Chairman of the Board of Directors of ASECNA, Mr Jean LAMY and the Director General, Mr Mohamed MOUSSA, is part of the implementation of resolution N°2022 CM 68-1 of the Committee of Ministers of ASECNA held on July 29, 2022 in Niamey which adopted the principle of Rwanda’s accession as a Member State of ASECNA as of January 1, 2024.
During the signing ceremony, Mr. Oumarou Malam Alma, Minister of Transport of the Republic of Niger, Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of ASECNA declared that “ASECNA is built on 3 pillars : solidarity which cements the States’ commitment to pooling their means to better collectively manage their airspace, quality human resources and the permanent quest for excellence through technological innovation. It is therefore an expert institution, whose cooperative management model is cited as an example all over the world and a symbol of successful North/South and South/South cooperation which is opening its doors in Rwanda.”
Dr. Ernest NSABIMANA, Minister of Infrastructure of Rwanda indicated that his country is particularly pleased with its membership of ASECNA. “ Rwanda is convinced that its new status as an ASECNA Member State will contribute to achieving the ambition of liberalization, collaboration and partnership to achieve the objectives of the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM)” , underlined the Minister.
The next step for Rwanda will be the ratification of the ASECNA Convention by its parliament. And to facilitate this integration, the Director General has already appointed a Representative in Rwanda, in the person of Mr. KOMGUEM MAGNI Apollin.
The Agency for the Safety of Air Navigation in Africa and Madagascar (ASECNA) is a public establishment of an international character created in 1959. Its main mission is to provide air traffic services over an area of 16.1 million km2. Its member states, 18 in number, are: Benin, Burkina, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Comoros, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, France, Gabon, Guinea Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Madagascar , Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Chad and Togo. In addition, ASECNA develops capacities related to the management of airports, the studies and construction of aeronautical infrastructures, the maintenance of aeronautical equipment, the calibration of air navigation aid instruments and training in the professions of civil aviation.