Minister of Transport and Mining, Audley Shaw, is set to lead a delegation to the 41st Session of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Assembly in Montreal, Canada, where Jamaica will seek election to the ICAO Council.

The delegation includes director general of the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority (JCAA), Nari Williams-Singh, chief technical director in the Transport Ministry, Dr Janine Dawkins, senior director of Transport Policy, Tanya Bedward, and director of Legal Services, Yvonne Barnett Russell.

The Council is a permanent body of the ICAO, composed of 36 member states, which are elected by the Assembly every three years. The ICAO Council gives direction to the work of ICAO, while being responsible for standards adoption and other ICAO governance responsibilities, while the organisation’s full assembly of 193 national governments is not in session.

The ICAO, which is a specialised agency of the United Nations, was established by governments in 1947 by the Convention on International Civil Aviation (1944) to support their diplomacy on international air transport matters.

The elections for the next triennium will take place from October 1 to October 7, 2022.

In May 2022, Jamaica launched its candidature for election to Part III of the ICAO Council for the 2022/25 triennium.

Securing an ICAO Council seat provides Jamaica with an opportunity for the country to contribute to decision-making at the highest level in the international aviation industry.

Jamaica has been an ICAO member state since 1963 and represented the English-speaking Caribbean on the Council over the period 1977 to 1986.

Minister Shaw is also scheduled to meet with members of the Diaspora, as well as other Ministers of Transport during his time in Montreal.