RIYADH — Saudi Arabia deposited the documents of ratification of the protocol relating to the amendment of the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention) “Article 50 (a)” and the protocol relating to the amendment of the Convention on International Civil Aviation “Article 56”, which were signed in Montreal on Oct. 6, 2016, at the headquarters of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in Canada.

This came during the deposition ceremony with the participation of the Secretary General of the ICAO Juan Carlos Salazar, and the Director of the Legal Affairs Department of the ICAO Michael Gill.

The Kingdom's delegation was represented during the deposition ceremony by Dr. Bader Bin Saleh Alsagri, the Kingdom's permanent representative to the ICAO, and members of the permanent delegation.

The first protocol included an amendment to Article 50 (a) of the Convention on International Civil Aviation, which stipulates raising the number of members of the ICAO Council from 36 to 40 members, while the second protocol included an amendment to Article 56 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation, which provides for raising the number of members of the Air Navigation Commission from (19) to (21) members.

The Kingdom was the initiator of the proposal to increase the number of members of the ICAO Council, and the proposal was welcomed and supported by a group of countries in the organization, where it was approved by the ICAO General Assembly at its thirty-ninth session in Montreal in 2016.

The two protocols relating to the amendment of Article 50(a) and Article 56 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention) were respectively ratified.

The General Assembly recommended that all contracting states ratify quickly the two amendments, and with the Kingdom’s ratification Sunday, it becomes the 70th country in the ICAO organization that officially ratifies these two protocols. Meanwhile for the protocols to enter into force, 128 contracting states must at least ratify one of the two protocols. — SPA