Rwanda Civil Aviation Authority and the AviAssist Foundation, Africa’s only independent, non-profit organisation dedicated solely to the safety improvements in African aviation, on Wednesday announced a partnership to establish the AviAssist Safety Promotion Centre (ASPC Rwanda).

The partnership, signed at AviaDev, a meeting that convened aviation industry players in Kigali from October 12, aims to establish a long-term mutually beneficial association in capacity building on aviation safety skills as well as business and leadership skills at the ASPC in Rwanda.

The ASPC-Rwanda is geared to become East Africa's leading aviation safety resource centre, making Rwanda and States in the East and Southern African ICAO region more self-sufficient at safety promotion.

The centre will impart training and safety training that is crucial to support aviation experts in their role as safety leaders and champions.

Silas Udahemuka, Director General of Rwanda Civil Aviation Authority: "We are very pleased to launch this cooperation. RCAA is committed to promoting the aviation safety in Rwanda and the East African region and this partnership helps us to achieve this goal. This partnership with ASPC Rwanda will help develop as well as sharpen skills that we expect will impact the daily operations of the aviation sector since ensuring safety is a key factor in the business of aviation.”

Tom Kok, the Director of AviAssist, said they were thrilled to partner with "one of Africa’s leading civil aviation authorities” to set up the resource centre, according to a statement.

"It is a unique opportunity to combine our safety promotion experience in Africa with the excellent safety oversight performance of the Government of Rwanda. This partnership will bring great benefits for the continuous professional development that the Foundation brings to Africa.

We are particularly grateful to the Netherlands Ministry of Infrastructure & the Environment. Without their commitment to aviation safety in Africa in support of the No Country Left Behind campaign of the International Civil Aviation Organization, the set up of our first ASPC would not have been possible.”

The AviAssist Foundation is the only nonprofit organisation dedicated to providing impartial, independent, expert safety guidance and resources to the African aviation industry.

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