The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has said it did not approach Qatar to submit an offer to move its headquarters from Montreal to Doha, Arabian Business has reported.
The organisation revealed details of the lucrative financial package Qatar has offered in a bid to persuade the UN body to move its 534 staff and headquarters when its bid comes up for renewal in 2016. ICAO has been headquartered in Montreal since 1946.
“Qatar was not invited to submit its offer,” a spokesperson reportedly said. “This was purely a Qatari initiative. ICAO has not entered into discussion with any states on the topic of its permanent seat, not even Qatar. For now we have simply received an offer and, for this offer to formally proceed, Qatar must prepare a working paper for the next assembly so that all relevant details may be duly considered by our member states.”
As part of the offer, Qatar said it would cover the construction of a new, state-of-the-art premises for ICAO and all expenses relating to its equipage and facilities, maintenance, utilities, insurance and security. Doha has also offered to cover all expenses related to moving the current HQ and relevant staff to the new Qatar location, all expenses regarding contract or staff terminations and severance packages required as a result of the HQ move, as well as maximum health coverage and reduced educational fees for ICAO staff residing in Qatar.
The Ottawa government is working to keep the headquarters in Montreal and has spoken with Qatar about the issue.
Qatar claimed Montreal was too far from Europe and Asia and suffered cold winters. It claimed Canada made it hard for delegates to get visas and Canadian taxes were too high.
Montreal was originally selected as ICAO’s permanent seat in 1946 in light of its significant aerospace sector and geographic proximity to the UN General Assembly in New York. Montreal today remains a significant aerospace city, after Toulouse, France and Seattle in the USA, with several of the world’s major air transport organisations headquartered there (IATA, ACI, IFALPA) and over 80 aerospace companies located either on the island of Montreal or within its immediate surrounding regions.
