CAAS to provide 75 fellowships and conduct three in-region trainings in Latin America in next three years.
Singapore and Latin America will strengthen our longstanding partnership in civil aviation training to support aviation growth and advance international civil aviation standards. On 19 August 2025, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and the Latin American Civil Aviation Commission (LACAC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to expand training and capacity building cooperation in civil aviation within the Latin American region.
The MOU was signed by Mr Ng Tee Chiou, 2 Deputy Director-General of CAAS, and Ms Ingrid Azucena Zelaya Florian, President of LACAC and Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority in Guatemala, at the sidelines of the CVII Meeting of the Extended Executive Committee of LACAC in Guatemala on 19 August 2025.
The LACAC comprises 22 Latin American member States, namely Argentina, Aruba, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela. CAAS and LACAC first signed an MOU on collaboration on civil aviation training in 1998. Over the last 27 years, CAAS has given out close to 170 fellowships and through its training arm, the Singapore Aviation Academy (SAA), has trained over 1250 Latin American aviation professionals both in Singapore and in the Latin American region.
Under the enhanced MOU, CAAS will:
a) Provide 75 fellowships over three years for aviation professionals from LACAC Member States to attend specialised courses in key areas including aviation safety, aviation security, air traffic services, and aviation management at SAA.
b) Conduct three in-region training programmes in the Latin American region, tailored to address regional needs in areas including aviation safety, aviation security, air traffic services, and aviation management.
In addition, the enhanced MOU will include three new initiatives. These are aimed at developing young aviation professionals, further promoting bilateral knowledge sharing and fostering dialogue among senior aviation leaders. They include:
a) Three scholarships to young aviation professionals aged 35 and below from LACAC Member States under the Singapore-ICAO Next Generation of Aviation Professionals (NGAP) Scholarship Programme. Each LACAC scholar will attend a six-week programme in Singapore, comprising a two- week course at SAA, a four-week attachment at an aviation entity in Singapore and mentoring sessions with an SAA senior fellow, to be completed within three years.
b) One run of the ICAO-SAA Directors-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) Programme in the Latin American region.
c) The facilitation of high-level exchanges and staff exchanges from LACAC
Member States.
Mr Ng Tee Chiou said, “The Latin American region is poised for rapid growth in the coming years. To realise its full potential, the availability of skilled manpower is critical. CAAS is providing more fellowships and in-region trainings to help support human talent development. Through this, we seek to step up our engagement of the region and better connect Latin America and Singapore.”
Ms Ingrid Azucena Zelaya Florian said, “This agreement between LACAC and CAAS will allow us to continue strengthening our aeronautical technical capabilities in Latin America and the Caribbean.”
