A group of senior managers of airports in Africa are in Rwanda for the Union of Central and West African Airport Managers (UGAACO) executive workshop where they plan to chart ways to address challenges in the industry triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic. During the five-day meeting, officials will hold discussions that aim to improve skills to efficiently manage airports ensuring an appropriate degree of global standards through experience exchange.

"With my African colleagues, I look forward to discussing on the strategies to be implemented to revive the economy of our airports which have been hit hard by the Covid 19 crisis and also to define new issues, particularly the environment and sustainable development where Rwanda is one of the world benchmarks," said Doudou KA, Director General of Dakar International Blaise Diagne Airport. Established more than a decade ago, UGAACO is a forum that brings together a total of seventeen airports from sixteen countries from the central and western Africa. They include Ivory Coast, Mali, Centre Africa, Guinea, Benin, Senegal, Gabon, Burkina Faso, Cameroun, Senegal, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Chad, Niger, Mauritania, Togo and Guinea Bissau. Rwanda Airports Company which is also represented at the meeting has shown keen interest to join the forum, with reliable sources estimating full-membership by July, this year.