The government of Botswana will on Friday host the 2016 Aviation Stakeholder Conference (ASC) where delegates will discuss current challenges and examine future prospects of growth for the country’s largely under-exploited aviation industry.
In a statement, the Transport and Communications minister Kitso Mokaila said the one day aviation ‘Pitso’ (conference) would be held in the northern city and tourism hub of Maun under the theme: ‘Celebrating Aviation: The Next Economic Frontier.’
“The (Aviation) Pitso will provide a platform to highlight and celebrate all the milestones that have contributed to the growth of the industry and by extension economic growth of this country for the past 50 years.
“The theme shall also interrogate through round-table discussions and plenary sessions strategies that can be employed to capitalise on the milestones attained over the past 50 years to further grow the sector,” Mokaila said.
Further, the minister said the conference would deliberate on how can the country can maximise economic returns from the aviation industry through the development of aerospace infrastructure such as airports and advancements on cargo handling facilities.
As part of its broader agenda of diversifying the economy away from over-dependence on diamond mining, Botswana has identified the aviation industry as one of the businesses with a potential to sustain economic growth. As part of the aviation sector development plan, the country is rehabilitating at least 18 airports, air-strips and aerodrome to ease access to air transport in remote parts of the country.
