The Assembly of Heads of State and Government, in the matter of the liberalization of Access to Air Transport Markets in Africa, endorsed the Yamoussoukro Declaration (YD) in Lomé, Togo on 12 July 2000. Furthermore, the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC) was empowered as the Executing Agency of the YD in order to have an effective institutional structure for the supervision and management of the implementation of the YD, among other objectives.
To achieve this objective, AFCAC as the Executing Agency of the YD, collaborates with State Parties, Organs of the African Union, the Regional Economic Communities, Airlines, Industry Associations and other Air Transport Service Providers, guided by the following basic principles:
- All air transport activities undertaken on the African continent shall aim at achieving smooth, safe, secure and efficient intra-African travel;
- All air transport activities shall be conducted in the interest of the consumer; and
- Continental and regional Institutions and State Parties shall encourage active cooperation between eligible airlines and work towards multiple establishment of airlines and other Air Transport Service Providers in different Regional Economic Communities (RECs).
The Monitoring Body (MB) of the YD was established under Article 9 of this YD. It has the following responsibilities at a strategic level in support of the Executing Agency of the YD:
- To assist the Ministers Responsible for air Transport ensure the full implementation of the YD and realization of the SAATM.
- Perform oversight and advisory responsibilities over the functioning of the SAATM and the role of facilitating the smooth operation of the market.
The Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) of the YD was introduced to expedite the full implementation of the YD in order to move the continent forward towards the concrete implementation of the AU Agenda 2063. The realization of SAATM, the flagship project of the African
Union Commission, is vital to the achievement of the longterm vision of an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa under the AU Agenda
2063.
The SAATM will bring about enhanced connectivity across the continent leading to sustainable development of the aviation and tourism industry with immense contribution to economic growth, job creation, prosperity and integration across Africa.
The Ministerial Working Group of SAATM was established by the African Union Assembly to oversee and guide the implementation of agreed activities and the road map for the establishment of the SAATM. Thus, the main functions of the Ministerial Working Group, translated in
detail on its ROADMAP, includes:
- Following up on the SAAATM’s implementation progress and providing guidance; and
- Spearheading the advocacy campaign to urge all Member States to join the SAATM.
All readers are encouraged to visit AFCAC website www.afcac. org for further details, updates on SAATM and Reference Documents.
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