European aviation team in Islamabad to upgrade security standards after EU ban lifted
Europe's aviation regulator barred Pakistani airlines in June 2020 from operating in European airspace over concerns that Pakistan's aviation authorities were failing to meet international safety standards. The ban was lifted in November 2024.
ECAC, a grouping of the EU and 17 other countries, is a European aviation policy forum focused on safety and security.
The PCAA requested it to train its staff after the resumption of flights to the EU in January.
'The ECAC team is arriving in Pakistan tomorrow [Monday] to conduct training of our inspectors on two key areas of Explosives Trace Detection (ETD) and Explosive Detection Dogs (EDD),' PCAA Director of Aviation Security Shahid Qadir told Arab News.
'The training aims to enhance their ability to inspect explosive detection machines as well as guide the handlers of detection dogs on key focus areas and essential elements to ensure the highest standards of inspection.'
Qadir said the PCAA is committed to meeting international standards and ensuring that the credentials of Pakistani inspectors align with those required in Europe and the US.
The two-member ECAC team will conduct a four-day training program at Islamabad International Airport, where 12 aviation security compliance inspectors are expected to participate.
'The two-member ECAC team will conduct a four-day training at Islamabad International Airport, where twelve of our aviation security regulatory inspectors will receive the training,' Qadir said.
'They will conduct the training and certify the inspectors upon its completion.'
The training is expected to reinforce Pakistan's international credibility, as aviation security is the most frequently audited area in international oversight and the first thing regulators review is the profile of inspectors, the PCAA official added.
'When they see the courses, training, and certifications our inspectors have completed, they recognize that we meet international standards.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
2 hours ago
- Arab News
Placing nature-based solutions at the heart of climate action
Most climate policy discussions focus on reducing carbon emissions and adopting clean energy alternatives, often overlooking nature — an essential ally in combating climate change. Nature-based solutions are fundamental tools for climate action. These include restoring forests, improving soil health, and developing coastal areas to help achieve global net-zero targets. Societies use nature-based solutions to protect and restore ecosystems, while operating sustainably to address social challenges. Forests, wetlands, and oceans act as carbon sinks and provide powerful tools for climate adaptation and resilience. The co-benefits of nature-based solutions include strengthened communities and more robust economic systems. The UN Environment Programme estimates that nature-based solutions could deliver up to 37 percent of the emissions reductions needed by 2030 under the Paris Agreement. Yet they currently receive less than 3 percent of total climate finance. There is significant scope for increased investment. The financial sector is beginning to value ecosystem services through mechanisms such as carbon and biodiversity credits. Voluntary carbon markets surpassed $2 billion in value in 2022, largely due to the prominence of nature-based components. Biodiversity markets are also beginning to emerge. For example, France has launched a biodiversity credit system allowing developers to fund ecosystem protection as compensation for environmental impacts. The EU Taxonomy for Sustainable Activities includes biodiversity protection and circular economy principles among its environmental criteria for sustainable investments. Article 6 of the Paris Agreement allows for the trading of international carbon credits and channels funding toward large-scale, nature-driven projects. In Saudi Arabia, support for nature-based solutions is evident in the Kingdom's Vision 2030 reform agenda. Governments and ESG-minded investors must rethink their approach — seeing ecosystem restoration not as a cost, but as a long-term asset. Majed Al-Qatari The Saudi Green Initiative aims to plant 10 billion trees, regenerate land, and launch carbon market mechanisms linked to land-based projects. NEOM, the futuristic city under construction along Saudi Arabia's northwestern coast, incorporates regenerative design and nature-based landscaping into its infrastructure. Globally, other examples include Amsterdam's urban greening initiative, which is creating parks and rooftop gardens to reduce heat and absorb carbon dioxide, and Microsoft's investment in high-quality forest carbon projects as a part of its goal to become carbon-negative by 2030. However, nature-based solutions face growing scrutiny over their integrity. Some carbon and biodiversity assets fail to deliver real environmental benefits. For instance, scientists have found that more than 90 percent of evaluated rainforest carbon offsets do not reflect genuine emissions reductions. The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market is working to establish a global framework for high-quality, transparent carbon credits. Such standards must be adopted widely to ensure credibility and impact. While nature-based solutions are not a silver bullet, they are essential. Only rigorous technical standards for emissions reductions can ensure progress toward net-zero targets. Despite their potential, nature-based solutions continue to suffer from underinvestment. When properly funded, they offer exceptional outcomes: reducing emissions, restoring biodiversity, and supporting communities. Governments and Environmental, Social and Governance-minded investors must rethink their approach — seeing ecosystem restoration not as a cost, but as a long-term asset. To restore the climate, we must restore nature. • Majed Al-Qatari is a sustainability leader and ecological engineer experienced in advancing environment, social, governance and sustainability goals.
Saudi Gazette
9 hours ago
- Saudi Gazette
Trump announces new tariffs across the globe
WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump signed an executive order that imposed new tariffs on dozens of countries, which will go into effect in seven days, a deadline that has been delayed by a week so that the tariff schedule could be updated. To many, the tariff hikes do not come as a surprise, as Trump initially announced them in April. He had set a minimum 10% tariff on every country in the world and additional levies on dozens deemed the worst offenders, citing deficits and unfair trade practices with the US. Trump delayed the deadline of the tariff implementation, dubbed "Liberation Day," several times, allowing trading partners to negotiate. Some of them were able to negotiate an agreement and even reach tariff-reducing deals. A 15% tariff rate for the EU, for example, was decided on after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reached a political agreement with Trump over the weekend. Some countries, however, were unable to negotiate, injecting them with a new dose of uncertainty. And for some, higher tariffs were put into place than initially with 50% tariffs on its imported goods, and Canada, with 35% are among the hardest hit, followed by 39% for Switzerland, 25% for India, and 20% for issued a separate order for Canada, stating a levy hike from 25% to 35%, citing the cross-border flow of announcement from the White House late Thursday said Canada had failed to 'do more to arrest, seize, detain or otherwise intercept ... traffickers, criminals at large and illicit drugs.'Earlier on Thursday, the US president had also said Canada's announcement that it will recognise Palestine as a state as the reason it would be "very hard" for Washington to reach a trade agreement with its northern for Brazil, Trump's tariff decision seemed more about political revenge, as the Republican President directly linked the 50% rate to the trial against former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, which Trump called a "witch hunt".The curveballs sharply contrast with Trump's decision on Mexico, to whom he granted a 90-day extension to continue trade has previously said the tax increases on nearly $3 trillion worth of imported goods would bring new wealth, create new factory jobs, reduce budget deficits and get other countries to treat the US with more respect. — Euronews
Asharq Al-Awsat
9 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
World Shares Retreat After Trump's Order Imposing New Tariffs on 68 Countries and the EU
World shares retreated Friday following choppy trading on Wall Street that saw more losses and as investors assess President Donald Trump's order imposing new tariffs on 68 countries and the European Union starting in seven days. Trump's order, which pushed back the tariff deadline earlier set on Aug. 1, has injected a new dose of uncertainty in an already uncertain process. In early European trading, Germany's Dax fell 1.5% to 23,697.31. Britain's FTSE 100 dropped 0.7% to 9,068.97. In Paris, the CAC 40 shed 1.6% to 7,647.56. The future for S&P 500 was down 0.8% and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was also 0.8% lower. Japan's Nikkei 225 slid 0.7 % to 40,799.60 while South Korea's Kospi tumbled 3.9% to 3,119.41. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index shed 1.1% to 24,507.81, while the Shanghai Composite slipped 0.4% to 3,559.95. Australia's S&P ASX 200 shed 0.9% to 8,662, India's BSE Sensex lost 0.4% to 80,837.19 and Taiwan's TAIEX slid 0.5% to 23,434.38. 'Trump's new tariff directive, signed behind closed doors just ahead of the Aug. 1 deadline, slaps a new floor under global trade costs: a 10% minimum rate for nearly all partners, with surcharges of 15% or higher for surplus nations,' with Canada drawing particular ire, Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary. 'This wasn't just an update — it was a structural rewrite. The average US tariff jumps from 13.3% to 15.2%, a seismic shift from the 2.3% average before Trump retook office. This reshapes the cost calculus for everything from semiconductors to copper pipes,' he added. Benjamin Picton, senior market strategist at Rabo Bank, said in a commentary about the US tariffs: 'The USA is cherry-picking high value-add industry for its own economy while forcing trading partners to grant preferential market access for its exports and supply it with cheap imports. Make no mistake, this is imperial trade.' On Wall Street on Thursday, stocks capped the trading day with more losses after an early big tech rally faded and a health care sector pullback led the market lower. The S&P 500 fell 0.4%, its third straight decline. The benchmark index, which is just below the record high it set Monday, notched a 2.2% gain for the month of July and is up 7.8% so far this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.7% and the Nasdaq composite closed less than 0.1% lower. Roughly 70% of stocks in the S&P 500 lost ground, with health care companies accounting for the biggest drag on the market. Health care stocks sank after the White House released letters asking big pharmaceutical companies to cut prices and make other changes in the next 60 days. Eli Lilly & Co. fell 2.6%, UnitedHealth Group slid 6.2% and Bristol-Myers Squibb dropped 5.8%. Gains by some big technology stocks with hefty values helped temper the impact of the broader market's decline. Meta Platforms surged 11.3% after the parent company of Facebook and Instagram crushed Wall Street's sales and profit targets even as the company continues to pour billions of dollars into artificial intelligence. Microsoft climbed 3.9% after posting better results than analysts expected. The software pioneer also gave investors an encouraging update on its Azure cloud computing platform, which is a centerpiece of the company's artificial intelligence efforts. Big Tech companies have regularly been the driving force behind much of the market's gains over enthusiasm for the future of artificial intelligence. In other dealings Friday, US benchmark crude oil added 15 cents to $69.41 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international standard, also rose 15 cents to $71.85 per barrel. The US dollar fell to 150.55 Japanese yen from 150.67 yen. The euro rose to $1.1419 from $1.1421.
