国际民航组织总部保留在蒙特利尔到2036年（在线收听） |
国际民航组织总部保留在蒙特利尔到2036年 OTTAWA, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Canada and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Monday signed a new agreement to keep the UN agency's headquarters in Montreal for another 20 years after 2016, when the current agreement expires. Canada has promised to modernize ICAO conference facilities, purchase additional security equipment ahead of this fall's assembly meeting and improve accreditation and visa service among others.
Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird said his country recognized the importance of keeping ICAO and their lobbying efforts have paid off.
ICAO Secretary-General Raymond Benjamin said Canada has been a host for over 60 years now, and Montreal's multicultural and aerospace-intensive environment is very well-suited to the organization's State Council Representatives, delegates and international staff.
Montreal, Canada's second largest city, has hosted the headquarters since 1947 when the organization was founded. The city's surrounding region hosts world-class airline research companies, manufacturers and innovators, and the second-largest density of aerospace jobs in the world.
On April 22, a Qatari delegation visited Montreal and presented a proposal to move the ICAO headquarters to Doha, complaining that the Canadian city is too cold and too far from Europe and Asia.
An ICAO vote had been set for September, and to prevail its bid, Qatar needs a minimum of 60 percent votes of the member states.
The move of Qatar triggered a month-long lobbying by Canada to nearly 100 countries until May 24 when Benjamin announced Qatar's decision to withdraw its proposal.
ICAO, which groups 191 member states, codifies the principles and techniques of international air navigation and fosters the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly growth.
The organization, with 534 staff members and 37 full-time foreign delegations in Montreal, is the only UN agency based in Canada which generates some 100 million Canadian dollars (about 103 million U.S. dollars) annually for the city's economy and 1,200 direct and indirect jobs. |
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