A senior official of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) government called on civil aviation authorities in the Middle East for cooperation in adapting regulation to the booming business aviation, local media reported on Feb. 2.

With a number of positive factors, business aviation is coming into its own as a regional industry, said Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, Minister of Economy of UAE, in a keynote address to the Middle East Business Aviation (MEBA) conference at Airport Expo Dubai on Feb. 1.

However, "the regulation around business aviation is still very much a grey area in the Middle East," Gulf News daily quoted Sheikha Lubna as saying, therefore countries in the region should work together to "ensure that business aviation traffic is not just tolerated, but welcomed and catered for."

"Just as there is an economic impact in the traffic increases boosted by new aviation services in a liberalized market, there are jobs that must be developed to meet that demand," Emirates News Agency quoted Sheikha Lubna as saying, "if civil aviation authorities around the region can collaborate to foster a more efficient and streamlined, unified approach to manage business aviation regulations, we all stand to benefit."

The MEBA conference is a two-day event with an associated exhibition featuring 90 companies from 20 countries and 31 business jets on display.