The first ‘Global Investment in Aviation Summit’ concluded Tuesday, 29 January in Dubai InterContinental Festival City Hotel in the presence of aviation industry and key officials.
The summit and exhibition began with a pre-event workshop on Airport and Aircraft financing and was officially inaugurated by H.E Eng. Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori – Minister of Economy and Chairman of the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), in the presence of Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Airports; President of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority; Chairman and CEO of Emirates Group, and H.E. Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi, Director General of the GCAA on Monday.
H.E Eng. Sultan Al Mansoori appreciated the distinguished attendance in the summit that hosted ministers, several officials, and major international aviation companies stressed on the importance of the summit in highlighting the vitality of aviation and the air cargo sector, as well as enhancing the position of the United Arab Emirates as a pioneering country in the aviation sector.
His Excellency, added that the sessions created a common ground for all the participants to push more investments in this sector, which has become an important contributor to the economy by approaching global markets, as well as the rapid development of the aviation industry that will create career opportunities through future investments.
The “Global Investment in Aviation Summit” is an initiative of the General Civil Aviation Authority and was launched under the theme “Linking Developed and Emerging Markets through Attractive Aviation Investment Opportunities”.
The summit’s core objective is to explore and present investment opportunities within the aviation sector had an attendance of more than 750 investors, leaders, government officials, and financiers, and key aviation stakeholders from around the world.
H.E. Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi, Director General of the General Civil Aviation Authority, thanked all participants, government officials, and dignitaries for their participation in the summit in the closing ceremony and called for stakeholders and specialists from around the world to join and participate in the second round of the Summit in Abu Dhabi next year.
“The United Arab Emirates enjoys a privileged position at the regional and international levels, as it is considered an incubator for the Gulf market, and planning partner for measuring the amazing technological development provided by the aviation industry to the businessmen and to the global aviation community, through planning for the future and studying the recent aviation needs that are expanding rapidly as well as continue efforts to create investors and partners network who are willing to explore new markets such as aviation medicine, data monetization, Artificial Intelligence, and more.” Al Suwaidi added.
Al Suwaidi said, “This high presence of participants confirms the common views and the commitment to develop the aviation industry through partnerships and cooperation that will further explore new strategies in the aviation market. This will strengthen the culture to create further optimal investments in the sector such as the creation of an eco-friendly industry, aircraft manufacturing, training, maintenance activities, and airport infrastructure, and other related topics that are based on transformation and reliance on digital technologies and innovation.”
A competition by “Intelak” – Aviation and Travel Incubator led by the Emirates Group, General Electric (GE) and Etisalat, that aims to crowdsource the best ideas to make travel simpler, better, or more exciting. The competition inspires and develops teams to become part of the conversation in travel and aviation. Five teams have participated in the event, providing admirable ideas in the aviation and travel industry, including Skky Network, The Concept, Trift, NG Aviation and Elixir Aircraft.
The summit panel “Aviation Training Global Investment Opportunities” was one of the highlights of the summit led by Ahmad Al Jallaf Assistant Director-General – Air Navigation Services Sector (GCAA), a key personality in the UAE aviation sector and the winner of the Aviation Executive of the Year 2018 in the Middle East Aviation Business Awards.
Al Jallaf, said, “The discussion held in the session is a vital element to attract foreign direct investment on aviation training, and towards adopting solutions in education to achieve sustainable growth and enhance social responsibility to create new opportunities and jobs in the Aviation sector. The session aims to discuss investment in creating more educational and training responsible for the development of skilled and specialized jobs in the industry such as Air Traffic Controllers”.
The panel discussed aviation training methods and their importance, in addition to the emerging investment opportunities offered by the aviation sector. Al Jallaf, joined by Captain Anup Nair, Chief Flight Instructor at Fujairah Aviation Academy, Alexandre Alves, Chief Commercial Officer at Seven Air Group, Arthur Leopold-Leger, CEO of Elixir Aircraft, Captain Martin Mahoney, Senior Vice President for Flight Training at Emirate Airline, and Luciano Belviso, founder and CEO of Blackshape S.p.A.
The closing day featured three other panel discussions aimed at enhancing investments in aviation. The first session dealt with Global Investment in Aviation and its Trends, in the presence of Jamal Saif Al Jarwan, Secretary General of the UAE International Investors Council, Tahnoon Saif, CEO of the Mohammed bin Rashid Aerospace Hub, formerly known as Dubai South Aviation District, Tiago Lopes, Senior Engineer at the European Investment Bank (EIB), Peter Fuhrman, CEO of China First Capital, and Vasgen Edwards, Managing Director for Middle East and Africa at Boeing Capital Corporation.
The next panel discussion titled “Urban Space the New Frontier, Future is Now, Where to Invest”. Focused on investors and business personalities search for new destinations and stable markets, as well as the most effective tools in guiding and developing the aviation industry and the use of the technology in creating an ideal environment for aircraft and their operators in various areas of travel, cargo and other related services.
The session was moderated by Alexander Nase, Global Managing Director at FEV Consulting, Evgeni Borisov, CEO of Vimana Global, Gregor Grandl, Senior Partner at Porsche Consulting GmbH, Diana Seagull, VP for Mobility Programs at Aurora Flight Science, and Khaled Al Awadhi, Director of Transportation System Department of Dubai Roads and Transport Authority.
The last panel titled “Where’s the Gold in Aviation Value Chain?” Discussed the development of new sectors and destinations perspectives and where to invest in order to achieve sustainable growth was moderated by Katerina Sevcikova Urbanova, Chief Editor of Aerospace Magazine and was led by Achuzie K. Ezenagu, CEO of Toucan Aviation, Max Kamenetsky, Senior Product Manager at Loon, and Sibongile Sambo, owner of SRS Aviation.
GIAS’19 is considered a qualitative leap in the aviation industry that requires an estimated global investment reaching $1.8 trillion by 2030. With the steady growth rate of 4.3% per annum and supported by continued global aircraft maintenance market, this steady growth will be attributed to the successive developments in the market as well as increasing air travel demand around the world, especially in India, China, and the Middle East.
