The Saudi Academy of Civil Aviation, a subsidiary of the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), has won membership of the Global Aviation Training Office. The Academy's new achievement came after it was voted into the Office by 40 out of the International Civil Aviation Organization's 91 members with voting rights. Naeem Al-Shabanah, Assistant to the President of the Authority for Central Services, praised and congratulated the academy for its achievement. "We are proud of this unprecedented win of the Academy's rightful place in the ICAO's Global Aviation Training Office," he said. "This victory is an acknowledgment of the Kingdom's contributions to aviation safety and its status in the global civil aviation arena in general, and of the world class level of the professionals who graduate from the Academy." Shabanah added that with this win the Academy has achieved its strategic objective of gaining sustained global recognition. Fahd Al-Harbi, President of the Academy, expressed happiness at the win, saying: "I cannot describe how happy I am to see the Academy succeed in making such remarkable achievements," he said. "After having won no less than six international accreditations and partnerships, now we've secured membership of the ICAO's Global Aviation Training Office, which goes to show the level of confidence the organization and its member states have in our highly trained graduates. "Being among the 14 members of the office places upon us a great responsibility to up rate specialized training all over the world, which is the Academy's way of claiming its stake in the world of aviation, thanks to the world class capabilities and personnel." He went on to say the Academy would not have gained such high status without the policies set by its management. He reiterated that the Academy's work under ICAO's umbrella will go a long way to achieving all of its strategic goals, especially at a time of multiple changes and huge expansion in the aviation sector. In conclusion, Al-Harbi said: "I would like to thank the Academy's entire staff of trainers, developers and administrators for their team spirit and relentless hard work that has garnered us these outstanding achievements." The ICAO's Global Aviation Training Office, with 14 full-membership states, is a consultancy concerned with the long-term strategic development of the Advanced Aviation Training Program. It discusses and makes decisions on membership, and develops and circulates training portfolios among member states.
