Aruba Airport Authority N.V. (AAA), represented by its CEO Joost Meijs and Director Safety Security and Regulatory Compliance Angeline Flemming, recently signed a Covenant of Cooperation with the University of Aruba (UA) represented by Eric Mijts. The covenant aims to develop joint activities and foster collaboration in the fields of education, research, service to society and exchange opportunities.
AAA CEO Joost Meijs indicated that sustainability in all facets will be AAA’s key guiding principle for how Queen Beatrix International Airport (AUA Airport) does business in the coming years. As Aruba is a part of the worldwide community, AAA has embraced the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that have been set by the United Nations.“ The Covid crisis has shown us that entities that do not focus on long term sustainability in all aspects of their business, will not be able to survive the crisis”, said AAA CEO.
This agreement is of utmost importance for the Sustainable Island Solutions through Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics program (SISSTEM) at UA. Eric Mijts explained that collaboration between the university of and the private sector is essential to foster resilience for sustainable development and to provide opportunities for students to build international expertise within the Aruban context. “In that sense we see AAA as an ideal fit to collaborate on several projects on sustainability and innovation,” Mijts expressed during the signing ceremony.
UA and AAA will initially be collaborating on the topics of autonomous aviation, infrastructure sustainability and on sustainable landscaping.
