UAE inks air transport relation agreement with Iran

The United Arab Emirates represented by the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), has signed an agreement with the Islamic Republic of Iran on 8 January 2015 to strengthen air transport and aviation safety, following a round of talks between the two countries' federal aviation authorities.
The Agreement was signed by Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi, Director-General of UAE GCAA and Dr. Alireza Jahangirian, Vice Minister of Roads and Urban Development and President of Civil Aviation Organisation (CAO) of Iran.
The signing ceremony was attended by a number of aviation specialists including Laila bin Hareb Al Muhairi, GCAA Assistant Director-General, Strategy & International Affairs, Ahmad Al Jallaf, GCAA Assistant Director General, Air Navigation Services, as well as Sayed Ahsan Alawi, member of the Iranian Islamic Shura Council.
Al Suwaidi stressed the importance of this type of agreements, "The historical, economic and religious ties between the UAE and Iran plays a vital role in our bilateral relations in all fields, including aviation, which was reflected on the positive trade results of US $15.7 billion in 2013." He continued, "The strategy of the GCAA supports open skies agreements that benefit all parties in the air transport industry. It is in our interest to develop air transport relations with Iran, leading to full open skies relation between the countries in the near future." Dr. Jahangirian expressed his hopes that the talks with the UAE would represent a new starting point to strengthen and expand the cooperation between the two countries. He also stressed that the Government of Iran pays great interest to the relation with the UAE at all levels, especially the aviation sector in which the UAE has achieved notable success.
The meeting also concluded a number of agreements that grant rights for the UAE national air carriers to operate to a number of Iranian cities, as well as establishing a system for cooperation in the fields of aviation safety, search & rescue activities and air accidents.
Laila bin Hareb Al Muhairi said, "I welcome the agreement reached between the UAE and Iran. I trust that the mutual interest in cooperation expressed today will strengthen the collaboration between our countries." She added, "Cooperation and coordination in the aviation sector between countries globally are of high importance in order to provide fair and equal access to the skies. The liberalisation of air transport has become inevitable with the growth of passenger needs to move freely globally." The Iranian delegation conducted a number of field visits prior to the talks, and met with a number of aviation field visits in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah.
Ahmed Al Jallaf said, "The UAE sky already sees a lot of flights bound for and coming from Iran. But I can confirm that the UAE is ready to manage more flights operating between the two countries." Ismail Mohammed Al Blooshi, GCAA Assistant Director-General, Aviation Safety Affairs, said, "The UAE has been and remains in the forefront of countries embracing aviation safety initiatives at regional level, and is welcoming the talks with Iran to collectively strive to collaborate on aviation safety and promote a culture of Middle East aviation safety.