GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Sept 30, CMC – Caribbean Community (CARICOM) minister responsible for aviation and transportation will meet here on Thursday for the Caribbean High-Level Symposium on Aviation Safety, where they are expected to adopt a Georgetown Declaration and agree on a roadmap of priority actions to strengthen aviation safety across the Community.
A statement issued by the Guyana-based CARICOM Secretariat said that it has convened the symposium in collaboration with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
It said that the symposium will follow the two-day ICAO/EASA Third Global Forum of Regional Safety Oversight Organisations and Regional Accident and Incident Investigation Organisations, being hosted by the Guyana government under the auspices of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority and ends on Wednesday.
“Guided by the theme “Strengthening Caribbean Aviation Safety: Regional Cooperation, Resilient Oversight and Sustainable Capacity Development”, the symposium will seek agreement on practical measures to strengthen aviation safety oversight across the region, deepen cooperation, and coordinate capacity development, financing and implementation,” the Secretariat said.
It said that at the centre of the discussions is the Caribbean Aviation Safety and Security Oversight System (CASSOS), CARICOM’s principal mechanism for strengthening regional aviation safety oversight.
The Secretariat said that CASSOS supports member states in meeting their international obligations, improving and strengthening regulatory effectiveness and safety performance, and advancing the conditions necessary for an efficient single market for air transport services across the Community.
“Effective aviation safety oversight is fundamental to safe and sustainable air transport and to advancing the region’s single market. This symposium is about moving from challenges to practical action, with a Declaration that member states, CASSOS and our partners can take forward together,” said Dr. Pauline Yearwood, Programme Manager, Transportation, Directorate of Economic Integration, Innovation and Development at the CARICOM Secretariat.
The symposium will open with the presentation of the Draft CASSOS Roadmap and Action Matrix to 2035, together with a review of the outcomes of the Global Forum.
“Subsequent sessions will examine the sustainability of Caribbean civil aviation authorities, progress towards harmonised civil aviation regulations across Member States, and the role of effective safety oversight in supporting an efficient single market for air transport under the CARICOM Multilateral Air Services Agreement.”
The Secretariat said that a Ministerial Roundtable will bring together ministers with responsibility for air transportation and senior officials to examine the challenges, opportunities and priorities shaping the future of Caribbean aviation safety.
“These high level and senior aviation decision makers will also engage strategic partners on support for resilient, safe and sustainable aviation and consider perspectives from the aviation industry.”
Discussions will also address emerging risks and priorities for safety oversight, the evolving role of CASSOS in supporting member states’ implementation of ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices, and sustainable approaches to financing and governance for regional aviation safety oversight.
The symposium will end with the adoption of a Declaration, setting out shared priorities and actions to advance aviation safety across the region.
CMC/gt/ir/2026