REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Indonesia will seek membership of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) for the period 2016-2019, Transportation Minister Ignasius Jonan said here on Friday.
He said he had appointed former minister Indroyono Susilo as his special envoy for the ICAO.
"I have chosen Pak (Mr) Indroyono Susilo to help in lobbying (for the purpose) so that we can become a member of the council," he said at the "Diplomatic Reception on Indonesia's Candidacy for ICAO Council Member."
Jonan said he had chosen the former Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs because he had worked at the UN before.
The ICAO is an organization under the UN that focuses on civil aviation and has 191 countries as its members.
Of all the ICAO members, only 36 are allowed to participate in technical commission meetings to discuss new regulations to be formulated by the ICAO.
Country members are elected once in three years through a secret ballot at a general assembly. The next ICAO Assembly is scheduled to be held in September 2016.
Indroyono said he was optimistic that Indonesia would be able to become ICAO Council member by improving regulations, especially those related to safety and security aspects, in the next few months.
"If we can become an ICAO Council member, we can contribute towards determining international civil aviation policies," he said.
He said Indonesia was potentially very well placed to become an ICAO Council member because the country controls four main regional routes out of the total nine main routes in the world.
He said Indonesia is also ranked eighth in terms of the number of air passengers it carried from 2011 to 2015, based on World Bank data.
Indroyono said Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta airport is ranked the world's 12th busiest airport in 2014, based on the Airport Council International statistics.
He said Indonesia has 1,200 planes of all kinds and has allowed aircraft companies like Airbus to operate.
"Based on these facts, how come we have not become ICAO Council member so far? They were shocked when I explained the situation just now. How could we not become ICAO Council member? We indeed have lacked promotion," he said.
Indroyono said in order to become an ICAO Council member, Indonesia must be able to receive support from a minimum of 125 member countries of the total 191 member countries.
He said Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi has sent telegrams across the world to garner support for it.
"I am the special envoy of the Minister of Transportation and I am ready to take Indonesia to this election," he said.
Ikuti Whatsapp Channel Republika