He spoke highly of Vietnam’s potential for developing the civil aviation industry, which makes up 4-6 percent of the country’s GDP.

He noted that the volume of passengers and goods transported by air has steadily increased by 20 and 60 percent respectively over the past year, creating a good opportunity for the development of the world’s civil aviation industry.

However, safety and security are crucial factors behind the development of the industry, so ICAO wants to cooperate closely with Vietnam, particularly in training human resources, said Mr Gonzales.

For his part, State President Triet agreed that safety and security are absolute advantages for Vietnam’s civil aviation, which have been acknowledged by domestic and international passengers. He asked ICAO to boost its cooperation with Vietnam in personnel training and civil aviation security.