PETALING JAYA: Communications and cooperation among Asia-Pacific (APAC) countries need to be strengthened to improve the aviation sector in the region, says Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.

The Transport Minister said he had the pleasure of meeting his counterparts from APAC countries during a meet-and-greet session at the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) headquarters in Montreal, Canada.

“During the discussion, the member states agreed that communications and cooperation need to be strengthened to improve the aviation sector in the region.

“It is imperative for all of us to set both short and long-term common goals to expedite recovery in the post-pandemic era.

“My proposal was to introduce standardised health protocols among member states to make travelling in the region more convenient with consistent and clear procedures,” he said in a Facebook post on Tuesday (Sept 27).

The heads of delegation from China, Australia, Singapore, Japan, India, and Korea had also met up for a pre-council discussion ahead of the joint APAC reception hosted by its seven member states on Tuesday.

Among those who joined the meeting were Deputy Administrator of the Civil Aviation Administration of China Cui Xiaofeng; Singapore Minister of Transport S. Iswaran, as well as India’s Civil Aviation and Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.

In a separate posting, Dr Wee had attended the opening ceremony of the 41st International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) General Assembly at its headquarters in Montreal, Canada.

“I joined more than 60 Ministers of Transport from 180 ICAO member states to attend the opening ceremony after the world had faced the Covid-19 pandemic for more than two years,” said Dr Wee.

Also present were Transport ministry secretary-general Datuk Isham Ishak, Malaysia’s High Commissioner to Canada Datin Paduka Anizan Siti Hajjar Adnin and Malaysia’s International Civil Aviation Organisation permanent representative Flora Chin Lee Sa.