Astana, 13 October 2022 (TDI): The President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev opened the sixth summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA).
In his opening remarks, he stated that “This year marks the 30th anniversary of an initiative to convene this conference. Over this period, it has become a platform for multilateral cooperation & international institution of modern diplomacy.”
“Today we live in the conditions of an unprecedented geopolitical storm and the growing crisis of the world economy. This phenomenon has already been called “global dysfunction.”
Since the last CICA summit in 2019, the world community has experienced difficult trials, the negative consequences of which continue to have an impact on global development.
In my view, a particularly important challenge facing us is to achieve sustainability in international relations in the face of emerging unprecedented threats.
It is critically important to give a new impetus to multilateral mechanisms and return to open dialogue, the President of Kazakhstan communicated.
The President of Kazakstan touched open multifarious issues during his speech, including issues pertaining to the economy, food security, environment, and sustainability.
President Tokayev went on to point out the importance of sustainability in international relations. Along these lines, he said, “important task that we have is to achieve sustainability in international relations in the face of emerging unprecedented threats.
It is critical to give a new impetus to multilateral mechanisms and to return to open dialogue.” Moving ahead, he enunciated that, “The forecast that the 21st century will be the century of Asia is now a reality.
“Asia has become a recognized world economic leader in terms of nominal GDP and purchasing power parity. The region has significant human and natural resources. Asia is home to 21 of the world’s 30 largest cities.
Of the estimated growth of $30 trillion in middle-class consumption by 2030, only $1 trillion is expected to come from Western economies.
However, the future of Asia itself depends on our collective willingness to strengthen dialogue among cultures, traditions, and worldviews. I am sure that the steps taken for the development of CICA correspond to this goal,” Kassym-Jomart Tokayev highlighted.
Tokayev further outlined the priorities of Kazakhstan for its upcoming chairpersonship at CICA by saying, “First, the economic dimension. Disruptions in global supply chains force us to take a revised look at the formation of efficient transit-transport corridors.”
In this context, he shared that “The CICA Forum of Analytical Centers will serve as a universal platform for experts and specialists from all over Asia to exchange experience and ideas and implement joint research projects.
This year, Astana hosted the CICA Business Council and Business Forum, as well as the Fifth Meeting of the CICA Youth Council.
The CICA Foundation will be established today. Its purpose is to create a special mechanism for the selection of CICA projects and the collection of voluntary funds for their implementation. The number of observers and partners is also growing.
Turkmenistan joined CICA as an observer. Decisions were made to establish cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN),” the Head of State said.
President Tokayev emphasized that “The maturity and effectiveness of CICA as a regional platform for political dialogue serves as a starting point for its further transformation.
Member States have repeatedly discussed and agreed in principle that CICA is already functioning de facto as an organization.
I want to emphasize that we are not creating a new organization, but moving to a new stage of institutional development.
Raising the status of the Conference will strengthen the increased role of Asia in world affairs and bring the interaction of the member states to a new level,” the President of Kazakhstan noted.
About the environment, he stated that “Environment is becoming increasingly important. Climate change is leading to natural disasters that became more unpredictable & catastrophic. In 2021, 57 million people in Asia were affected by them.”
“Decarbonization of the economy is extremely urgent for Asia. To address this problem, we need investments in unprecedented amounts.
In a month, Egypt will host COP27P. I propose to hold a High-Level Conference in 2024 in Astana on environmental issues in CICA,” the President of Kazakhstan said.
He reiterated that “We need a working mechanism for food security in CICA space. Asia produces two-thirds of the world’s agricultural products but remains vulnerable in this area.
It seems promising to establish cooperation between CICA & IOFS, headquartered in Astana.” Aside from that regarding economic measures he proposed people-centric policies.
He said, “People must always be at the center of our efforts. Economic measures can be considered effective only if they are focused on the human dimension, saving and developing human resources.”
6th CICA Summit
The sixth Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) conference will be hosted by Kazakhstan in Astana. The two-day conference will also mark the thirtieth anniversary of the intergovernmental organization.
The leaders from Palestine, Qatar, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Iran, Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Turkey, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan are attending the summit.
Among the other guests are Belarus’s President as well as the Vice Presidents from Vietnam and China. The agenda of the Summit is to deliberate on key issues pertaining to CICA’s objectives.
Along these lines, it will endeavor to resolve key issues pertaining to its internal mechanism and functioning along with taking into account the most pressing global issues, especially in the backdrop of the situation in Eurasia and the Middle East.
Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA)
CICA is a multinational organization with the objective of collaboration for stability, security, and peace throughout Asia.
It is based on the understanding that there is a close-knit connection between stability, peace, and security in Asia and the rest of the globe.
Nursultan Nazarbayev, the President of Kazakhstan, first suggested the concept of holding CICA on October 5, 1992, during the 47th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
The driving force behind this initiative was the need to establish an effective and acceptable system for ensuring peace and security in Asia.
CICA Member states are Azerbaijan, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Egypt, India, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Russia, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkiye, UAE, and Uzbekistan.
The CICA Observer States are Belarus, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and the USA.
The Observer Organizations include the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations (UN), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the League of Arab States (LAS), and the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic States (TURKPA).
