Lieutenant General Mohamed Abbas Helmy, Minister of Civil Aviation of Egypt, has inaugurated the 31st MRO AFRICA & AFRICAN AVIATION TRAINING, held in Cairo 5-7 February 2023. The official opening was attended by Captain Amr El Sharkawy, Chairman of the Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority, Eng. Yehia Zakaria, Chairman & CEO of EGYPTAIR Holding, Mr. Nick Fadugba, African Aviation CEO, Mr. Abderahmane Berthe, Secretary General of the African Airlines Association (AFRAA), Mrs. Margareth Kyarwenda, Secretary General, African Training Organizations (AATO) Captain Elias Sadek, Minister Advisor for Air Transport , Eng. Walid El-Khafif, Chairman & CEO of EGYPTAIR MAINTENANCE & ENGINEERING, and Pilot Walid Soliman, President of EGYPTAIR TRAINING ACADEMY, senior officials of civil aviation sector, representatives of aircraft, engines and parts manufactures, representatives of African airlines, suppliers of aircraft spare parts, and providers of training activities along with other aviation services.

Speakers in the opening ceremony focused in their remarks on the challenges that face the aviation industry in Africa, sustainable development, and modern strategies to develop a roadmap toward the future of aviation in the continent. They also agreed that aircraft maintenance and training are pillars for the aspired development of the aviation sector that require further focus and attention in order to get the desired outcome. The conference sessions tackle many issues of interest for MROs and training organizations that aim at concluding better solutions for many obstacles.

Following the official opening of the conference, the Minister of Civil Aviation took part in opening the activities of the exhibition and paid a visit to EGYPTAIR booth where he witnessed the signing ceremony of an agreement between EGYPTAIR MAINTENANCE & ENGINEERING and Petra Aerospace.