ASEAN, EU sign world’s first bloc-to-bloc air transport agreement
The ASEAN, European Union (EU) and their member states signed the Comprehensive Air Transport Agreement (ASEAN-EU CATA) at the 28th ASEAN Transport Ministers’ Meeting in Bali, Indonesia on October 17.
Jakarta (VNA) - The ASEAN, European Union(EU) and their member states signed the Comprehensive Air Transport Agreement (ASEAN-EUCATA) at the 28th ASEAN Transport Ministers’ Meeting in Bali,Indonesia on October 17.
The ASEAN-EU CATA is the world’s first bloc-to-blocair transport agreement and reflects the latest policy thinking in airtransport regulation. Negotiations on the agreement commenced in 2016 andconcluded on June 2, 2021.
Budi Karya Sumadi, Minister of Transportation ofIndonesia, said the signing of the agreement will create more harmonioussynergies to accelerate economic recovery, especially air connectivity betweenASEAN and Europe, and will re-invigorate the global economy, in particular inthe ASEAN and EU regions.
Adina Vălean, the European Commissioner forTransport, said the signing of the first-ever region-to-region air transportagreement between the EU and ASEAN brings bilateral aviation partnership to anew level. The agreement will help to support the aviation sector’s recoverypost-COVID-19, and restore much-needed connectivity between the two regions, tothe benefit of some 1.1 billion people.
ASEAN-EU CATA also provides a foundation for closercooperation between ASEAN and the EU in areas such as aviation safety, airtraffic managemen🌌t, consu💝mer protection, and environmental and social matters./.
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At the signing ceremony (Photo: asean.org) 
