India, EU sign MoU for cooperation in aviation safety, air traffic control

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for cooperation in aviation safety.

The agreement was signed on the first day of the EU-India Aviation Summit here where the Airport Authority of India also signed a declaration of intent with Eurocontrol, a pan-European, civil-military organisation dedicated to supporting European aviation.

While the MoU between DGCA and EASA will focus on collaboration at regulatory level and safety level, the declaration of intent between AAI and Eurocontrol will be focused on the area of air traffic control.

Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said India and EU share historical relations and invited industry players from EU to become a part of the fastest growing aviation market in the world.

"India and the EU have shared strong historical relations which continue to grow today on the back of robust physical, digital and people-to-people connectivity, aided by the aviation industry," he said.

Scindia made these comments in his virtual address at the two-day summit. He could not attend the event in person after testing Covid positive.

Adina Valean, European Union Commissioner for Transport, also addressed the summit through virtual mode.

"From commercial opportunities to aviation safety and security, sustainablility, air traffic management, or consumer protection, our shared experiences, as well as our shared objectives, make us natural partners. We already have a successful history of partnership and cooperation in many areas. I truly hope aviation will become one of our most successful partnerships," she said.

The summit focuses on EU-India air transport relations and the mutually shared challenges and opportunities of the two regions, such as the post-Covid recovery of air traffic, increasing sustainability, maintaining safety and the development of unmanned aircraft systems.

The summit will bring together top-level policy makers, industry executives and stakeholders from both the EU and India.

"We have a long standing history of bilateral relation between India and EU. I am sure we have a bright future together with even stronger cooperation and collaboration between EU and India," said Andreas Carlson, Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, Sweden.