KATHMANDU: Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Jeevan Bahadur Shahi has said that air safety would be strengthened in Nepal.

Addressing the ongoing 39th General Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) in Montreal of Canada, Minister Shahi reiterated that the Nepal government was committed to making flights safe and reliable.

"Nepal's terrain is made of hills and mountains, so air travel is like oxygen to the people," he said, "The aviation contributes to mountain tourism and development."

Meanwhile, he informed the international community that the government was carrying out significant works with the assistance of ICAO itself regarding its 2013 report on Nepal's air safety.

It would help meet the ICAO standard soon, he argued.

The Nepali delegation attending the ICAO General Assembly includes the Director General of Civil Aviation of Nepal, senior officials from Tourism Ministry, Managing Director at Nepal Airline Corporation and others, said a press release issued by Nepal's Embassy in Ottawa.

The ICAO General Assembly was inaugurated jointly by Canada's Transport Minister, the ICAO Chairman and the Mayor of Montreal city.

Minister Shahi is scheduled to meet with the Chairman of ICAO Council and Director General on Monday.

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