New Delhi: The second Asia Pacific Ministerial Conference on Civil Aviation begins today (Sep 11-12) in New Delhi which is expected to see the participation of around 250 representatives from 41 countries. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be attending the valedictory session of the conference on September 12.

The Asia Pacific region is a significant contributor to global air traffic and India is the world's fastest growing aviation market.

Briefing reporters here on Monday (Sep 9), Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said the conference will look to have a road map for elevating the civil aviation sector in the region.

Around 250 representatives from 41 countries are expected to participate in the conference, Civil Aviation Secretary Vumlunmang Vualnam said.

On whether there will be representatives from Pakistan and China at the conference, he said there will be no representative from Pakistan.

There will also be bilateral meetings with various countries, including Vietnam, Maldives, Japan and Singapore.

The conference will be jointly organised by the Indian government and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) APAC. The first Asia Pacific Ministerial Conference on Civil Aviation was held in Beijing in 2018.

India is the fastest-growing aviation market in the world and is currently the third largest in the domestic segment. In the last decade, the number of aircraft in India has increased from 400 to more than 800 and airports have exponentially grown from 74 to 157, as per the ministerial conference website.

-B