EU - South Asia
Aviation Partnership Project II
Strengthening the partnership in aviation between the EU and South Asia

Why, what, where and when?

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Aviation is of strategic importance for both the European Union and India, which have strong aviation ties. Aviation is an enabler of economic development, jobs and connectivity, thereby contributing to social and economic cohesion and inter-cultural  understanding. In parallel, there are strong calls on the aviation sector to reduce its environmental footprint and step up the global fight against climate change.

Recognising the benefits of strengthening links between India and the EU, the European Commission recently proposed that the EU and India start negotiations on an EU-India comprehensive air transport agreement.

The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport and the Ministry of Civil Aviation of India are therefore co-organising the EU-India Aviation Summit as a platform for collective dialogue on shared key challenges and future cooperation in aviation.

The event will be held in New Delhi, India, at the Oberoi Hotel on 20 and 21 April 2023. The summit will bring together top-level policy makers, industry executives and stakeholders from both regions.

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Scope of the summit

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Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the EU-India air transport market has demonstrated steady growth in the last 10 years. A new civil aviation policy was adopted by India in 2016 liberalising restrictions on traffic rights to and from India, and a Horizontal Agreement between the EU and India entered into force in 2018. The EU operates the EU-South Asia Aviation Partnership Project aiming to enhance aviation safety, promote institutional and industrial links and mitigate the environmental impact of aviation. Continued collaboration between the EU and India has huge potential to improve connectivity between the regions as well as overcome problems relating to safety, infrastructure and the environment.

 

The EU-India Aviation Summit will seek to contribute to this collaboration by opening a dynamic dialogue on shared challenges and opportunities between decision makers and key stakeholders. The shared objective of the organisers is to ensure stable air traffic in an economically and ecologically sustainable air transport sector as an important enabler of the economy. Accordingly, the EU-India Aviation Summit will discuss key aviation topics, examine the existing relations between the two regions, identify areas of further cooperation and explore how to best work towards a genuine aviation partnership between the EU and India. Key topics to be discussed will include:

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• EU-India aviation relations

• New approaches to the challenge of growth and congestion

• EU-India connectivity: trends, challenges and opportunities

• Environmental challenges in aviation

• Cooperation and innovation in the aerospace sector

• The emerging regulatory framework for RPAS

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More details about the programme, topic and speakers for the event will be provided shortly.

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Who is expected to attend?

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Both the European Union and India are home to leading aviation players. The EU-India Aviation Summit will bring together high-level representatives of the public and private sectors of both regions. Expected participants include:

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• Ministers of transport / civil aviation

• Directors-General of civil aviation authorities

• CEOs of airlines and airport operators

• High-level representatives of the aeronautical and other aviation industries

• European Union Aviation Safety Agency

• EUROCONTROL

• SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking

• Representatives of organisations and associations (ICAO, CANSO, IATA, ACI Europe, EU airlines’ associations, and others)

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Who can take part - and what will it cost? 

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The number of participants is limited by the capacity of the summit venue. The organisers therefore reserve the right to refuse registration. There is no registration fee for participating in the EU-India Aviation Summit but travel and accommodation is at the expense of participants.