7th Joint Monitoring and Coordination Board (JCMB) Meeting

The participants expressed appreciation for the major achievements and the growing international commitment in the two years since the signing of the Afghanistan Compact – which sets the terms of a partnership between the Afghan Government and the international community to improve the lives of the Afghan people. The participants also welcomed the Afghan Government’s efforts progressively to assume responsibility for governance, development and security, and looked forward to enhanced Afghan engagement in this regard.

In the aviation sector, the discussions centred around the build-up of human capacity, securing the necessary financial resources and the finalisation of the new aviation legislation.

In an earlier JCMB meeting, the Government and donors had agreed to intensify efforts to increase the Ministry of Transportation and Civil Aviation (MoTCA) capacity to administer a civil aviation oversight system to International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards, to include safety and security oversight. To follow this up, a project has been initiated to contract for safety oversight and capacity building, the funding for which is being sought in the 1387 (March 2008 – March 2009) budget.

The importance of Airport Master Planning for the main airports in Afghanistan was highlighted. Planning would help to identify the requirements for development and funding, enabling MoTCA to develop an action plan for achievement of the benchmark set in the Afghanistan Compact.

Finally, the new Civil Aviation Law is expected to be passed by the end of 1386 (March 2008). The law would then set the parameters for the formation of an independent civil aviation regulatory body.