DOT to Host African Officials at Air Transport Conference

April 8-11 meeting will promote international trade

Washington -- U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta April 4 announced that the Department of Transportation (DOT) will host the transport ministers of 10 African countries at an April 8-11 meeting in Atlanta that will focus on using air transportation to promote international trade. Ministers from Angola, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, Mali, Senegal, Tanzania, and Uganda are expected to attend.

The PanAfrican-Caribbean Conference on Air Transportation will be hosted by the City of Atlanta-Hartsfield International Airport in cooperation with the DOT.

Department officials will have the opportunity to work with representatives of sub-Saharan nations to build on the achievements of the Safe Skies for Africa initiative, as well as discuss the changes and challenges posed by the events of September 11.

The United States is Africa's largest single market, with U.S.-Africa trade approaching $30,000 million last year, Secretary Mineta said. Transportation is a critical element in the infrastructure that supports this commerce, and safe, secure, and dependable transportation is essential to the development of trade between the United States and Africa, and between Africa and the rest of the world, Mineta added.

Representing Secretary Mineta at the conference will be Read C. Van de Water, DOT assistant secretary for aviation and international affairs. Also attending will be officials from DOT's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Transportation Security Administration, and the Office of the Secretary of Transportation.

The Safe Skies for Africa Initiative was launched in 1998 to help African nations meet international air safety standards, improve airport security and improve regional air navigation services. Secretary Mineta pointed to the U.S. government's successful work with Nigeria as an example of the benefits of the Safe Skies program. The FAA provided technical assistance to Nigeria in improving its aviation security, leading to the lifting in 1999 of a six-year ban on air services between Nigeria and the United States. Direct flights between the two countries resumed in February 2001.

Secretary Mineta said that in addition to Safe Skies, the United States is also seeking to liberalize bilateral aviation agreements with African countries. Of the 56 U.S. Open-Skies bilateral agreements worldwide, 10 are with African countries -- Tanzania, Namibia, Burkina Faso, Ghana, The Gambia, Nigeria, Morocco, Rwanda, Benin, and Senegal. Open-Skies agreements allow unrestricted service by the airlines of each side to, from, and beyond the other's territory, without restrictions on where carriers fly, the number of flights they operate, or the prices they charge.