At a joint EU–Latin America Civil Aviation Summit held in Rio de Janeiro on 25 and 26 May, Commission Vice-President Siim Kallas, responsible for transport, signed two "joint declarations" with Latin American aviation leaders that will lay the foundation for closer cooperation in civil aviation between the EU and Latin America. The event is jointly organised by the European Commission, the National Civil Aviation Agency of Brazil and the Latin American Civil Aviation Commission. Latin America is one of the world’s fastest growing aviation markets and of strategic importance to the EU and its industry. Among the main issues discussed during the summit are ‘Removing barriers to air transport in the EU and Latin America’, ‘Developments in the airline industry in Latin America’ and ‘Safety and Security – Challenges and Potentials for Cooperation’. Patrick Ky, Executive Director of the SESAR Joint Undertaking, presented the SESAR programme in a dedicated session on ‘EU and Air traffic management and new technologies’. He highlighted in his speech that regional ATM modernisation solutions need to be interoperable and that SESAR welcomes the opportunity for dialogue with Latin America. <More info on the Summit>