HE Dr. Mohammed bin Nasser Al-Zaabi, CEO of the Public Authority for Civil Aviation (PACA), led the Sultanate's delegation participating in the second session of the Council of Arab Ministers of Meteorology and Climate Affairs. The meeting was held at the headquarters of the Arab League in Cairo, in the presence of a number of ministers, those concerned with meteorology and the Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

His Excellency, CEO of PACA praised the efforts of the League of the Arab States and the Permanent Arab Meteorological Committee in the field of meteorology and confirmed that the items discussed during the 34th session of the Committee were of importance to the countries of the region in general and Oman in particular.

His Excellency pointed out that the wise government of the Sultanate in the glowing era of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has been paying great attention to meteorology as its prominent role in reducing the risks associated with weather and climate. He added, the Oman meteorology has proved its ability to deal with these climatic conditions by broadcasting notices and warnings to the public and coordinating with the concerned parties and the various media, especially after the opening of the National Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (NMHEWS) on 23 March 2015 and the inclusion of tsunami warnings’ mission.

Further, Oman Meteorology recently launched an initiative to introduce the quality system for all its services, as it is important to be improved As for awareness and information, he mentioned that there are joint committees with the Ministry of Education through which the concepts of meteorology were added in the educational curricula of different age groups. In addition to other committees shared with the media to coordinate the fast broadcasting of the notices and warnings. In collaboration with these committees, a consistent procedure manual for the alarms mechanism has been reached according to the risk type.

HE underlined the importance of the efforts made and the support provided by the WMO and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) for the success of the Arab Forum for Climate Outlook (ArabCOF) and he called for more efforts and cooperation for the success of this forum because of its importance in providing seasonal climate outlook currently lacking in the region.

Further, HE emphasized the importance of training, capacity building, unification of efforts in national meteorological facilities. Besides, the necessary procedures for the qualification and periodic assessment of staff as required by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

Several items were discussed that would enhance cooperation among the countries members’ and contribute to the development of meteorological services and the exchange of experiences and training opportunities for their employees to raise the efficiency of human cadres. The most important talks at this session included the weather and climate risk management, training and capacity building, the fledgling Arab Climate Outlook Forum ArabCOF, Integrated Strategy for Arab Meteorological Services and its Operational Plan for (2018-2030), cooperation with relevant global, regional and international communities, and the focus of the work of the session "Meteorological role in climate issues and climate change. "

The PACA is seeking to develop its services in various meteorological fields. For instance, the provided services in meteorology are transformed to become accessible through an electronic system that enables the beneficiary to obtain information remotely. The presence of meteorology and air navigation under the umbrella of civil aviation enhances communication and the exchange of information among them.  In addition, PACA is working to boost the various aspects of cooperation between meteorological and aeronautical facilities in order to improve the quality of the provided services for the safety and security of aviation and the preservation of the environment.