AfBAA confirms prestigious Guests of Honour to attend this year's symposium

Tuesday 9th September 2014

Ahead of this year's African Business Aviation Association (AfBAA) Symposium to be held in Johannesburg 14 - 15 September AfBAA has today confirmed the attendance of two prestigious Guests of Honour that complement the existing line up of expert industry panelists and speakers.

AfBAA is pleased to confirm that the key-note speech will be delivered by the Honourable Ms. Poppy Khoza, Director General of the South African Civil Aviation Authority. As the local Guest of Honour Ms Khoza will address the role of the CAA in developing Business Aviation locally and in relation to the rest of the continent. "We are honoured to welcome Ms Khoza and anticipate she will define a strong framework for discussions to build on over the two day event," says Tarek Ragheb, Founding Chairman of the Association.

Adding further credibility to the meeting AfBAA has also confirmed that Mr Robert Morin, Senior Vice President of the Export Import Bank of the United States, will be the International Guest of Honour. The Ex-Im Bank is the official export credit agency of the United States and is tasked, amongst other things, with developing financial support for the export of US manufactured business aircraft around the world. "Financing aircraft in Africa is critical to the growth of the market so we are delighted that someone of Mr. Morin's standing recognizes the AfBAA symposium as an ideal platform from which to communicate to the African Business Aviation community. His attendance adds a fresh perspective to this challenging subject," adds Ragheb.

In addition to the key-note addresses a number of panel sessions will include debates and discussion about financing, operations, South African Business Aviation and for the first time a case study panel exploring the topic of pre-owned aircraft. AfBAA will also be introducing its first educational workshop, which will focus on Safety Management Systems (SMS). AfBAA continually advocates for safety in the Business Aviation sector and has sponsored the event jointly with aviation consultancy ARGUS' local South African partner Litson & Associates. As aviation safety advisory and training specialists Litson will discuss the significance of well-structured Safety Management Systems and how a coordinated approach can improve safety in operations. The satellite workshop, which is free for those that attend the symposium, will take place at the African Aerospace and Defence show on 17th September between 13.00 and 15.00.

"We are very excited about this year's symposium as we believe the caliber of speakers, complemented by our illustrious guests of honour will ensure lively and thought provoking debate. The addition of the new items such as the case-study and the SMS Workshop will also enhance the value of the symposium for those attending," commented Rady Fahmy, Executive Director of AfBAA.

As momentum builds registered delegate numbers are up compared with the previous year and a strong set of sponsors are supporting the event. The Gold sponsor JETNET will be delivering an overview of statistics in association with AfBAA, OEM Airbus Corporate Jets, and trip planner Universal Weather and Aviation Inc. have offered support as Silver sponsors whilst Aviation Group Travcon joins aircraft management company Primus as Bronze sponsors. "Without our sponsors we would not be able to run the event. We really do appreciate their support and intellectual, as well as financial, input," adds Fahmy.

For further information please visit: http://symposium.afbaa.org and follow #africanbaa #afbaasymposium2014

About AfBAA

The African Business Aviation Association was launched in May 2012 to represent the interests of the Africa's aircraft owners, operators, and suppliers to the Business Aviation community in a single voice. AfBAA currently has 76 members in total.

AfBAA's primary objective is to promote the understanding and benefits that Business Aviation provides for the Continent's economic development and prosperity through advocacy.

As an active, well funded, professionally run organisation AfBAA is committed to increasing membership, raising awareness of the Association internally and externally in Africa and supporting all entities involved in Business Aviation in Africa.

Chairman Tarek Ragheb, and Executive Director Rady Fahmy, work with the Founding Members to lead development of the Association.

www.afbaa.org

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