KUWAIT: Kuwait's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) signed yesterday a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to strengthen cooperation and consolidate efforts to enhance levels of civil aviation. DGCA Chairman Sheikh Salman Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah told reporters that the DGCA strives to consolidate its joint cooperation with international organizations specializing in civil aviation and air transport to benefit from their expertise and to boost the national cadres.

Meanwhile, DGCA's Director General Yousef Al-Fawzan and IATA's Vice President for Africa and the Middle East Mohammed Al-Bakri signed the agreement. The ceremony was attended by DGCA's President Sheikh Salman Sabah Al-Salem Al-Hamoud Al-Sabah and IATA President Alexandre de Juniac. Fawzan said on the sidelines of the signing of the memorandum at the headquarters of the Kuwait International Airport that the signing of this memorandum is a continuation and activation of the comprehensive memorandum of understanding signed between the two parties at the headquarters of the Executive Office of (IATA) in Geneva last October. He explained that the new agreement aims to exchange information, experiences and best practices in the field of aviation safety, including the adoption of two evaluation programs for IATA.

The first program was an Operational Safety Audit program that is an internationally recognized and accepted evaluation system designed to assess the operational management and control systems of an airline. The second program is IATA's Safety Audit for Ground Operations (ISAGO) which has been built upon a "backbone" of audit standards applicable to all ground handling companies worldwide, coupled with a uniform set of standards relevant for the specific activities of any ground handler. - KUNA