JEDDAH: The Forum on Civil Aviation Strategic Partnership with the Private Sector is to be held over April 4 and 5 under the patronage of Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General. Abdullah Raheemi, President of the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), said the first session of the forum and accompanying exhibition would be opened by Prince Fahd Bin Abdullah Bin Muhammad, Assistant Minister of Defense and Civil Aviation and Inspector General for Aviation Affairs and Vice Chairman of GACA. “The forum, which has been organized by GACA, will see a number of experts and speakers from the Kingdom and abroad talk of their experience in private-public sector partnerships,” Raheemi said. “The event hopes to improve the role of the private sector and its involvement in government projects and make investment in the aviation sector of additional value to the Kingdom's domestic product and enlarge the economic value of investment projects in the aviation sector.” He said the forum would attract capitalists seeking to invest in the sector and display the flexibility available to them as well as reveal investment opportunities in the civil aviation industry. “It will also help improve the role of banks and financiers in these investments and reduce reluctance to finance investments in the sector,” he said. “Partnership projects in the private and public sectors mean cooperation between the two sectors in making use of the facilities and financial and management experience of the private sector to produce good services for clients while attending to economic and social considerations and achieving long-term goals to match international developments and improve competitiveness.” Raheemi said that such partnerships would reduce the time required to complete state-funded projects and create thousands of job opportunities for Saudis while increasing the aviation sector's contribution to the gross domestic product.
