Kigali, 23^rd January 2018: The upcoming African Union Heads of State Summit in Addis Ababa is expected to see the adoption of the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) on 28^th January at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa. The official launch will be officiated by H.E Paul Kagame, the current president of the African Union. The launch will convene     Heads of State and Governments from African states, aviation experts, airlines, aviation authorities and other aviation organs in African and beyond.

The launch will take place under the themeSAATM- flying the AU agenda 2063-(The Africa we want) for an integrated, peaceful and prosperous Africa. The SAATM is one of numerous projects that the African Union (AU) has set out to achieve before 2063 to ensure a prosperous Africa. The Launch of SAATM will be part of a four-day event that will kick off on the 25^th to 28^th January 2018 with an exhibition showcasing the various services and products the African aviation industry has to offer.

At the African Union summit in January 2015, eleven African countries with Rwanda inclusive were the first to sign the Declaration of the Solemn Commitment, showing the willingness to pave the way for other African countries to open up their markets.

Since then, a total of 23 countries have signed the declaration, a huge step to the realization of the SAATM. They include; Rwanda, South Africa, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, Togo, Zimbabwe and Niger.  So far the countries that have signed the solemn commitment for the Single African Air Transport Market cover 75% of Intra African Air Transport. They bring together a potential market of 600 million people, a combined GDP of 1450 Billion USD as of 2015 and potential passengers greater than 200 million per year.

The expected benefits of the Single African Air Transport Market include the Air Service connectivity, the survival of African Airlines, enhanced intra-African Trade, contribution to tourism growth, contribution to national GDP, creation jobs for the Youths, and Integration that will bring Africans together.

A study conducted by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) on 12 African countries to showcase the benefits of intra-African air transport liberalization found that full implementation of Yamoussoukro Declaration  across the 12 States would generate an additional $1.3bn in GDP, would create an additional 155,000 jobs, would lead to savings of about $500m in air fares, would increase direct services by 75% and lead to increased penetration of trade, greater convenience and customer choice and significantly reduce travel times.