ICAO ASSEMBLY: T&T RESPONDS

UNCLAS PORT OF SPAIN 000666 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR IO/T AND EB/TRA AMCONSUL MONTREAL FOR U.S. MISSION TO ICAO FAA FOR JIM FILIPPATOS AND DI REIMOLD TSA FOR JILLENE MACCREERY SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAIR ECON ETRD TD SUBJECT: ICAO ASSEMBLY: T&T RESPONDS REF: A) STATE 77572; B) STATE 83246 ¶1. On July 5, Ramesh Lutchmedial, Director General of Civil Aviation in Trinidad and Tobago, told Econoff that he supports the USG position on environmental emissions and not the E.U.'s Emissions Trading Scheme for aviation emissions. He offered his general support for the U.S. proposals from reftels and stressed that T&T is a traditionally strong ally of the U.S. on aviation issues. He added that he will be one of two T&T representatives at the September ICAO Assembly and that T&T will be making a bid for a seat on the ICAO Council. ¶2. Lutchmedial also asked for clarification on U.S. plans to submit a working paper on restructuring ICAO, an idea that originated in a November 2006 meeting between FAA and other Western Hemisphere aviation authorities. According to Lutchmedial, the FAA agreed during a series of meetings to author a paper proposing changes to ICAO's structure and budget, which the other participating governments would support when requested through diplomatic channels. However, he has heard nothing recently about such a paper and the deadline for submitting working papers for ICAO is drawing near. SWEENEY