International community must urgently step in to address humanitarian issues in Afghanistan, top experts said during the eighth Abu Dhabi Strategic Debate (ADSD) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)…reports Asian Lite News
A panel discussion on the second day of the ADSD focused on Afghanistan’s current political and security landscape.
“Over the past 20 years the Afghans have experienced an unprecedented era of freedom of liberties that include freedom of education, expression and assembly and the reversal of this is disappointing,” Nasir Ahmad Andisha, Ambassador, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Afghanistan in Geneva, said.
Afghanistan
“In the early days of the Taliban’s forced entry into Kabul there was hope in many parts of the country for a lasting peace. However, two events set back Afghanistan: The Taliban’s announcement of their cabinet and the attack on Panjshir as it started a cycle of revenge.”
Dr Marvin G. Weinbaum, Director of Afghanistan and Pakistan Studies at the Middle East Institute, and Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, said there is a crisis of administration in the country.
“For Afghanistan, it is the end of the crisis of conflict, there is a period of relative peace that the country has not experienced in 40-45 years. Now there is a transition into a series of crises, such as an economic crisis and a crisis of administration.”
Andisha said the Taliban’s cabinet formation was a huge disappointment.
Experts call on int’l community to address Af’s humanitarian crisis
“The cabinet is completely far from inclusive, it’s 100 per cent Taliban, zero woman and no other religious minorities of Afghanistan.”
Andisha said that different stakeholders must come together to resolve the situation.
“The Taliban may reach out to the international community where the UN and other regional actors could be involved, and this could be complemented by a regional plan.”
Weinbaum said there is a grave humanitarian crisis that needs to be urgently looked at.
“The international community must address the humanitarian issue in Afghanistan first, it is a matter of humanity. The international community has a good deal of influence on the Taliban. The Taliban want international recognition and the continuation of aid flows. The Taliban wasn’t to be recognised as part of the system.”
Weinbaum said there is no other industry or source of profit other than poppy, which was also adding to the discontent among Afghans.
“There is no industry in Afghanistan except poppy growing and there is a liquidity crisis, this is leading to the start of the flow of refugees from Afghanistan.”
The ADSD was held by the Emirates Policy Center (EPC) with focus on the regional and international environments in the post-Covid-19 era.
Prince Albert II, Prince of Monaco, has called Expo 2020 Dubai a key global platform for reinforcing international cooperation and dialogue…reports Asian Lite News
In his remarks on the sidelines of the celebration of the National Day of Monaco at Expo 2020 Dubai, he said the UAE and Monaco are centres of global exchanges, adding, “International expos are, in general, a key platform for international exchanges and dialogue, as well as to provide various opportunities to move forward.”
“Expo 2020 Dubai is also a great opportunity for us to enhance our cooperation with the UAE and establish links with other countries,” he added, noting Monaco is a centre for tourism, innovation, international exchange and global action to protect the environment and find new ways to produce and save energy.
Prince Albert II
Prince Albert highlighted the economic relations between the UAE and Monaco, stressing the role of Expo 2020 Dubai in promoting and reinforcing them.
He also noted other opportunities for cooperation between Monaco and the UAE, including in the areas of technology, sustainability, culture and sports.
Monaco’s pavilion at Expo 2020 is located in the Opportunities District and is inspired by the legendary Rock of Monaco.
On Saturday Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, met with Prince of Monaco Albert II at the UAE Pavilion at Expo 2020.
The meeting was attended by Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum; Reem Al Hashemy, Minister of State for International Cooperation and Director General, Expo 2020 Dubai; Mohamed bin Hadi Al Hussaini, Minister of State for Financial Affairs; Dr Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and SMEs; and Sarah bint Yousef Al Amiri, UAE Minister of State for Advanced Technology.
Sheikh Hamdan accompanied the Prince of Monaco on a tour of the UAE Pavilion and discussed ways of strengthening bilateral relations and expanding economic, investment and cultural ties.
Prince Albert II praised the progress the UAE has attained in various fields and its unique sustainable development model that focuses on the growth of vital sectors that are shaping the future of our world. He stressed on the importance of taking advantage of the exceptional opportunities offered by Expo 2020 Dubai to advance global development and build a more prosperous future for the planet.
Sheikh-Hamdan
Sheikh Hamdan also toured the Monaco Pavilion at Expo 2020, where he was briefed on the design theme of the Monaco Pavilion, which is inspired by the ‘Rock of Monaco’, a gem-like polygonal structure that reflects the country’s national, cultural and environmental identity, as well as its extensive experience in education, construction, science, power generation and other vital sectors.
The Dubai Crown Prince and Prince Albert II witnessed the signing of an agreement on the avoidance of double taxation between the UAE and Monaco. The agreement was signed by Mohamed bin Hadi Al Hussaini, UAE’s Minister of State for Financial Affairs, and Monaco’s Minister of Finance and Economy.
Bodour Al Qasimi, President of the International Publishers Association (IPA), met with the youngest Emirati publisher, AlDhabi AlMheiri, owner of Rainbow Chimney…reports Asian Lite News
Bodour Al Qasimi, President of the International Publishers Association (IPA), met with the youngest Emirati publisher, AlDhabi AlMheiri, owner of Rainbow Chimney, and spoke to her about the future of local publishing, during a meeting with members of the Emirates Publishers Association (EPA) as part of a series of meetings with pandemic-hit publishing markets.
Bodour Al Qasimi meets youngest Emirati publisher
Al Qasimi praised the EPA’s journey over the past few years in growing its member network from five to 200, saying this was an indicator of the Emirati publishing industry’s willingness to seize new opportunities, be methodical, collaborate, and learn and grow.
She reinforced the IPA’s commitment to boosting the sector’s resilience and facilitating the publishers’ access to new markets and opportunities. She highlighted the fact that the profound disruptions in the past year prompted a new appraisal of the sector’s pre-COVID business model.
Bodour Al Qasimi meets youngest Emirati publisher
The IPA’s efforts are directed towards helping members build a new future for the sector. Among the latest initiatives and projects designed in response to publishers’ new and emerging needs worldwide are the International Sustainable Publishing and Industry Resilience (Inspire) Charter, and the soon-to-be-launched IPA Academy.
Through a series of training courses in several languages, the IPA Academy will be a global resource designed to close the skills gap in secondary markets by enhancing the publishers’ digital and technical capacities.
Bodour Al Qasimi meets youngest Emirati publisher
To promote the long-term development of the sector, Al Qasimi also highlighted the importance of dialogue, knowledge-sharing and cooperation between all active stakeholders in the publishing ecosystem, including publishers, printing houses, libraries, authors, distributors and designers. “Such a multi-faceted, multi-disciplinary approach will boost industry-wide solidarity and strengthen its capacity to face unprecedented challenges,” she said.
She called on the EPA to participate in the IPA’s 33rd International Publishers Congress in November 2022 in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The IPA president’s meeting with the EPA members follows a series of meetings this year with publishers’ associations in Spain, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Turkey, Egypt, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Ghana, and Georgia.
Pak reporter killed while exposing Arab hunting trips
Pakistan is ranked 145th out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2021 World Press Freedom Index…reports Asian Lite News
An international media-rights watchdog is calling for an independent investigation into the killing of a Pakistani amateur video reporter who drew attention to hunting trips for Arab dignitaries from the Persian Gulf, RFE/RL reported.
The body of Nazim Sajawal Jokhiyo was found near Karachi on November 3, hours after he said in a video posted online that he was being threatened over a previous video he shot that showed poachers organising a hunting party for “foreign guests”, the report said.
Pak reporter killed while exposing Arab hunting trips
Police said they arrested two men suspected of beating Jokhiyo to death, but Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in a statement on November 5 that officials must go further and also go after those who gave the orders for the killing.
Pakistan is ranked 145th out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2021 World Press Freedom Index.
RSF said Jokhiyo went to Jangshahi to cover the arrival of several foreign hunters who had been invited by a member of the Sindh province Assembly to hunt the Asian houbara bustard, a threatened bird species, the report said.
Hunting this animal is banned in Pakistan, except for wealthy dignitaries from the Persian Gulf monarchies, according to the Paris-based group.
Jokhiyo’s video ends when a man is seen approaching the camera and threatening him as he grabs at the device, the report added.
Following several threats, the provincial lawmaker of the Pakistan People’s Party, Jam Owais Gohram Jokhiyo, invited the amateur video reporter to his country house to “patch up” the dispute, according to RSF, the report said.
It said the reporter went there on November 2, the last time witnesses saw him alive.
“The brutality with which Nazim Jokhiyo was eliminated is all the more shocking because his murder was premeditated by a parliamentarian who is well-known in the region,” said Daniel Bastard, the head of RSF’s Asia-Pacific desk.
“We call on Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah to order an independent investigation to identify the perpetrators and instigators of the murder of Nazim Jokhiyo, who paid with his life for trying to inform his fellow citizens about a local despot’s abuses,” Bastard added, as per the report.
The ICRC has witnessed conflicts that are more fragmented, more deadly for the civilian population, and are harder and harder to solve politically…reports Asian Lite News
Robert Mardini, Director General of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), has called on the more than 100 world leaders attending the ongoing UN climate summit, to prioritise the planet’s most vulnerable populations who face the dual challenge of armed conflicts and the dire consequences of climate change.
COP26 Red Cross Appeals to World Leaders
Mardini spoke to Xinhua news agency on the sidelines of the ongoing 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change held in Glasgow, Scotland. He identified three main priorities for the participants.
ROBERT MARDINI, DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS: “The first one is for the international community to acknowledge that actually people living in armed conflicts and in contests affected by climate change are the most vulnerable and are to be really prioritized. The second one is the collective bold effort from the international community to focus on genuine and meaningful mitigation measures to reduce carbon emissions and to avert the climate crisis in the first place. And the third one is really linked to the most vulnerable (populations). They should be top of the list in terms of support, (but) the fact of the matter today (is) they are totally neglected.”
Between 2018 and 2020, Mardini was head of the ICRC’s delegation and permanent observer to the UN in New York. During his 22 years with the ICRC, he also led the ICRC’s Water and Habitat Unit, which managed projects in over 40 countries, such as Rwanda and Iraq.
On the eve of the current COP26 meeting, he visited Mali, where he gained first-hand experience of how climate change is pushing families to the brink in a country also battered by nearly a decade of conflict.
“I think Mali and many of the countries in the Sahel region exemplify really the ‘perfect storm,’ where communities find themselves being at the intersection of conflicts, violence, and also the consequences of climate change that are more and more visible,” he said.
“I was in Mali last week and I could see first-hand how those double challenges are hitting hard communities… I spoke with a woman for instance in a (displaced) camp, and she told me how she lost her house twice. The first time she lost it to floods, the second time she lost it to violence because of armed competition and violence around shrinking water resources and grazing lands,” he said.
“This is the story of millions of people living across the Sahel, in Niger, in Burkina Faso, including in places like Afghanistan. Out of the 25 countries that are today the most vulnerable to climate change, 14 are actually countries that are torn by armed conflict. So, you can imagine how challenging it is for those populations to face this double adversity,” he noted.
According to the UN, climate hazards have already damaged around 80 per cent of the farmlands in the Sahel region, drastically reducing food sources.
Some 29 million people in the region were reported to need humanitarian assistance and protection, more than ever before.
Whether in Mali, Niger or Afghanistan, where the ICRC is present, “if I put really myself in the shoes of ordinary people who are struggling with the consequences of climate change, with the more frequent floods, drought, desertification, declining of water tables and hardship, I think that we are reaching a point where … the collective action needs to be taken by all states today”.
Mardini said that the ICRC has witnessed conflicts that are more fragmented, more deadly for the civilian population, and are harder and harder to solve politically.
“So the key here is for the international community and the warring sides to reach settlements, to really create political consensus to solve conflicts in the long term,” he said, urging the international community to “put everything in place to ensure respect for the rules and for international humanitarian law, which when respected, will reduce human suffering”.
The innovative technologies of German companies will support the UAE’s efforts to achieve economic diversification…reports Asian Lite News
The governments of the UAE and Germany have discussed ways of establishing a framework for launching new action plans in the energy sector as part of the completion of the “Declaration of Intent” of the joint cooperation signed by both countries in 2017.
Both sides agreed to launch an extensive programme that includes forming an action team specialised in hydrogen and artificial fuel to support the ambitious plans to increase clean energy production and support the Paris Climate Change Agreement.
UAE flag
These statements were made during a consultation meeting held in Dubai, chaired by Suhail bin Mohammed Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, representing the UAE Government, and Andreas Feicht, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, representing Germany. Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA, Sharif Salim Al Olama, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure; as well as government officials and private sector representatives, also attended the meeting.
Al Mazrouei commended the bilateral ties between the UAE and Germany, which began in 1972 and were strengthened by the signing of a strategic partnership agreement between the two friendly countries in 2004, as well as the “Declaration of Intent” signed in 2017, and the mutual visits by the leaders of the two countries, with the most recent being the visit of Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, to Germany in 2019.
“The bilateral relations between the two countries have witnessed significant development in recent years thanks to the support of the leadership of both countries,” Al Mazrouei said, highlighting the importance of the formation of the hydrogen and artificial fuel action team, which will establish a roadmap for joint cooperation in the coming period, through a clear vision and comprehensive partnership programme.
“Similar partnerships could help implement the plans for transitioning into clean energy and assist both countries in drafting projects and initiatives that support the Paris Climate Change Agreement,” he further said.
“Germany is one of the strategic partners of the UAE in the field of energy, and their relations are witnessing promising improvements, as there are potential and future development opportunities that could help achieve their overall aspirations,” Al Mazrouei added.
He also noted that the two countries agreed to launch initiatives and projects that support the objectives of the UAE’s strategic initiative to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, stressing the need to promote cooperation by exploring opportunities to exchange related expertise and develop a sustainable and green energy industry.
Under this framework, he highlighted the UAE’s key developments and achievements in the areas of energy, environmental protection and sustainability and its recent leading projects. More than US$17 billion have been invested by the country in six continents, including in 27 countries facing threats posed by climate change, he noted.
The two friendly countries will reinforce their cooperation in green hydrogen and artificial fuel, Al Mazrouei further said. “The UAE provides solar energy at competitive prices, while Germany has a potential to import renewable and carbon-neutral energy. The innovative technologies of German companies will support the UAE’s efforts to achieve economic diversification,” he added.
UAE FLAG
For his side, Feicht stressed that the aim of such meetings is to promote cooperation between the two countries in green hydrogen to achieve climate neutrality by 2030. The German government has set the country’s annual hydrogen requirement goal at 110 TWh by 2030, which is unavailable locally, he noted. Considering the excellent conditions for producing renewable energy in the UAE, it could become a major source of green hydrogen and help Germany in this regard, he added.
“German-Emirati relations are a model to be followed globally in all areas, and we are keen to strengthen them on all fronts. Our partnership with the UAE in green hydrogen and artificial fuel will help us achieve our ambitious goal of decarbonisation,” he added.
For his part, Al Tayer said, “Launching the Emirati-German Bilateral Task Force on Hydrogen and Synthetic Fuels is a significant step that supports the UAE’s initiative to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, announced by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed. It confirms the UAE’s leadership in the clean and renewable energy sector, as green hydrogen contributes to enhancing global efforts in reducing carbon emissions and mitigating climate change, as it as a promising source for clean energy.
“At DEWA, we support the UAE’s efforts to achieve climate neutrality, in line with Dubai’s firm commitment to sustainability. The production of green hydrogen is part of DEWA’s efforts to support the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 and the Dubai Net Zero Emissions Strategy 2050 to provide 100% of the energy production capacity from clean energy sources by 2050.” said Al Tayer.
“DEWA has implemented a green hydrogen project in collaboration with Expo 2020 Dubai, and Siemens Energy at DEWA’s R&D Centre in the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. This is the first of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa to produce hydrogen using solar power. The pilot plant was designed to facilitate future applications and test platforms of different uses for hydrogen, such as energy production, and transportation.
“DEWA has also invited international consultancies to submit their bids to develop a strategy for the production of green hydrogen, which represents one of the pillars of a sustainable future that depends on accelerating the transition to carbon neutrality to support a green economy. The objectives are to develop the green mobility sector, and reduce carbon emissions from various industries, as well as generating electrical and thermal energy, producing water and other applications,” added Al Tayer.
Golf Saudi Partners With Royal Greens To Introduce Juniors To Golf
Royal Greens Golf & Country Club has partnered with Golf Saudi to use the simplified learning system to introduce juniors to golf…reports Asian Lite News
Before the start of this Thursday’s Aramco Saudi Ladies International presented by PIF, Royal Greens Golf & Country Club took delivery of the latest generation of Starting New At Golf equipment, as part of Golf Saudi’s plans to use the tournament to attract juniors to the game. Better-known as SNAG, the programme includes all the basics of golf, helping to teach beginners and build-up their skills. SNAG has become popular globally, due to the fact that it can be played both indoors and outdoors, ensuring anyone can learn and anyone can play golf.
Golf Saudi Partners With Royal Greens To Introduce Juniors To Golf
In partnership with Golf Saudi, the SNAG equipment will support the club’s “Royal Stars Junior Program”, which will feature a host of new activities to encourage young boys and girls to pick-up a golf club for the first time.
BOUCHAIB EL JADIANI, HEAD OF MASS PARTICIPATION $ NATIONAL TEAMS, GOLF SAUDI: “We have identified SNAG as a successful pathway for youngsters to gain an interest in golf. The priority of our Mass Participation program is to introduce golf at a grassroots level, to non-golfing Saudi Arabian children. We are therefore delighted to support PGA Professional Michiel De Wet and his team of coaches at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club with this equipment. We look forward to announcing a series of new classes through our “Let it Fly” program soon, which provides pupils from government-funded schools and universities the chance to try golf for the very first time.”
SNAG is the brainchild of former US PGA Tour professional Terry Anton and the programme ensures golf is easy to learn, thanks to its colourful, portable and very easy to use equipment, as well as having the game’s rules explained in a simple fashion. There has never been a system dedicated to the development of new players that is both easy to teach and learn, until SNAG. Since its rollout across the Kingdom, the program has become a proven learning and training system and continues to grow under Golf Saudi’s guidance.
Golf Saudi Partners With Royal Greens To Introduce Juniors To Golf
Golf Saudi’s growing SNAG program continues to expand with adults too, who are also eligible to participate with the various initiatives that Golf Saudi is currently overseeing in order to encourage their participation in the game. One such example was the “Ladies First Club” which was inspired by the 2020 debut Aramco Saudi Ladies International presented by PIF – the Kingdom’s first ever professional women’s golf tournament. Scores of women across the country registered to learn golf for the first time, with over 1,000 ladies signing-up in the initiative’s first four days. All active participants have been using SNAG equipment since they signed-up in order to learn more about the game and further their own development. The Ladies First Club has been successful in terms of bringing more Saudi women into golf, aligning with the Kingdom’s wider ambitions under Vision 2030, which aims to get more Saudis regularly active.
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Coaches, golf club staff and physical education teachers are all now involved and working with Golf Saudi in order to create a nationwide network of knowledgeable, skilled grass roots coaches, which is in turn adding and improving Golf Saudi’s Mass Participation program, one of the organisation’s six major pillars.
Egypt has signed seven grant agreements with the US, through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), worth $125 million as part of the joint economic relations program between the two countries…reports Asian Lite News
The agreements aim to bolster Egypt’s development efforts in the fields of education, science and technology, agriculture, health, economic governance, trade and investment, Egyptian Minister of International Cooperation, Rania al-Mashat said in a statement.
Egypt signs 7 grant agreements with the US
Al-Mashat pointed out that the strategic partnership with the United States is integrated with Egypt’s national efforts to achieve economic and social development, Xinhua news agency reported.
She revealed that Egypt’s International Cooperation Ministry and the National Council for Women, as well as the World Economic Forum, had launched the “Closing the Gender Gap Accelerator” initiative, the first of its kind in Africa and the Middle East, which works to take institutional measures to empower women.
“The Ministry is seeking to agree on a new partnership with the USAID in the context of achieving the goals of the initiative to bridge the gender gap, improve the work environment for women in the private sector, and enhance financial inclusion for women,” the Minister added.
She noted that the partnership with the USAID is also reflected in motivating the participation of the private sector in Egypt’s development and increasing its role in various projects, by supporting small and medium-sized companies.
Istanbul Mayor urges int’l community for safe-return of refugees
Ekrem Imamoglu, Mayor of Turkey’s most populated city Istanbul, urged the international community to extend “the highest level of international cooperation” for the safe return of refugees as their number hit 2.5 million in the city…reports Asian Lite News
“Turkey’s largest city Istanbul currently faced with nearly 2.5 million refugees, including asylum seekers and those who received their residence permits,” Imamoglu said.
Istanbul Mayor urges int’l community for safe-return of refugees
This population has matured in the past seven years, and it has been highly dramatic and laborious to cope with the entire process, Xinhua news agency quoted the Mayor as saying.
He urged the world to scrutinise the flow of migrations caused by wars, famines, and different kinds of inequalities, and work together for solutions.
Turkey, a key transit point for asylum seekers on their way to Europe, is home to over 4 million refugees, including 3.7 million Syrians, according to official figures.
Dubai is world's busiest international airport again
Dubai International Airport handled 13 million passengers in the first seven months of 2021…reports Asian Lite News
Dubai International Airport (DXB) reclaimed the top spot as the Busiest International Airport in the World this month as capacity through the Middle East hub returned in earnest, said OAG, a global travel data provider.
Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS), which occupied the top position for some time, moved into second place and Europe’s other big hubs are also catching up with Frankfurt (FRA) moving into 3rd place and London Heathrow (LHR) into 4th, it said.
Dubai is world’s busiest international airport again
There are eight European airports in the Top 10 Busiest International Airports this month. Antalya (AYT) in 9th place is up from 32nd in October 2019, and Vienna (VIE) is 10th from 22nd two years ago.
Meanwhile, Dubai International Airport handled 13 million passengers in the first seven months of 2021.
Senior Dubai officials project passenger traffic to see significant growth in the next six months on the back of Expo 2020.
“Government took strategic decisions and offered the right incentives to enable the country to overcome the effects of the pandemic and put us in the right position to lead the world’s economic recovery, and build bridges across the world to accelerate the recovery process, especially in aviation and tourism sectors,” said Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, president of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA), chairman of Dubai Airports and chairman and CEO of Emirates Group.
According to its figures, the UAE-UK route is the third busiest so far in October with more than 217,000 seats.
In fact, four of the top 10 busiest international routes start or end in Dubai, connecting Riyadh, London Heathrow, Bahrain and Jeddah with the UAE.
Only routes between Antalya in Turkey and Moscow Sheremetyevo (270,402) and between Dubai and Saudi capital Riyadh (240,938) registered more seats this month.
The recovery has been boosted by the UK’s decision to reopen the travel corridor between it and the UAE while the UAE’s conditional lifting of travel restrictions for passengers arriving from four countries in the Indian subcontinent as well as Nigeria and Uganda have also delivered.
India continued to be DXB’s top destination country by traffic volume in the first half with passenger numbers exceeding 1.9 million, followed by Pakistan, Russia and Egypt.
Earlier this month, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said Middle East carriers are expected to see a very limited improvement in their financial performance from a $6.8 billion loss in 2021 to a $4.6 billion loss in 2022 as the coronavirus pandemic continues to impact.
It said that without large domestic markets, the region’s major carriers rely significantly on connecting traffic, especially to Asia-Pacific which has been slow to re-open to international traffic.
Globally, IATA said net industry losses are expected to reduce to $11.6 billion in 2022 after a $51.8 billion loss in 2021. Net 2020 loss estimates have been revised to $137.7 billion (from $126.4 billion). Adding these up, total industry losses in 2020-2022 are expected to reach $201 billion.
