The sixth summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) took place in Astana on 12-13 October 2022.
Under the chairmanship of President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the summit was attended by 11 heads of state, including presidents of Azerbaijan, Belarus (observer), Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, State of Palestine, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan, as well as Emir of Qatar. Vice-Presidents of China and Vietnam also participated the summit. Other countries were represented at various levels.
In addition, approximately 50 delegations from member-states, observer-states, observer organisations, partner organisations, and guests of the chairmanship attended the summit.
In his video address to the CICA summit, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres stated: “I am grateful for our partnership in pursuit of our shared goals: advancing sustainable development.” He noted that “over the last 30 years, CICA has grown into a vital platform for dialogue between countries across Asia.”
Process to transform CICA into a full-fledged organisation
As outlined in the Astana Statement, Heads of State or Government of the Member States of CICA agreed to launch “structured, inclusive and transparent negotiations process of gradual, incremental and consensus-based transformation of CICA into a full-fledged regional international organization”.
This process is one of the key priorities of Kazakhstan’s chairpersonship in CICA.
Adopted documents and decisions
Following the summit, the participants adopted the following documents:
- The Astana Statement on Transforming the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia
- The Statement by CICA Heads of State on Cooperation to Ensure ICT Security
- The package of approved documents includes:
- The CICA Action Plan to Implement the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy
- The summit’s decisions in granting the status of a CICA member state to Kuwait, on CICA presidency issues in 2022–2024 and on holding regular meetings of the Council of Heads of State and Government and the Council of Ministers
- Decision on CICA Chairmanship in 2022-2024 and next meetings of the Summit and Ministerial Council
- The CICA Fund Regulations have also been approved
Five priority directions for Kazakhstan’s chairpersonship at the CICA (2022-2024)
All CICA member states supported Kazakhstan’s application for a new term of chairpersonship in 2022-2024 (Kazakhstan also chaired CICA in 2020-2022). The CICA summit also appointed incumbent Executive Director of the CICA Secretariat H. E. Ambassador Kairat Sarybay as the First Secretary General of CICA.
Speaking at the opening of the plenary session of the CICA summit, President Tokayev outlined five priority directions for Kazakhstan’s next two-year chairpersonship at the CICA:
- Form the CICA Council on Sustainable Interconnectivity, particularly in the context of gaps in global supply chains.
- Transform the CICA Financial Summit into a permanent platform. According to the President, this transformation will assist in economic recovery and sustainable and inclusive growth, creating ideal conditions for regional and subregional financial cooperation.
- Ecological issues – significant investments are required to decarbonize the continent’s economy.
- A working mechanism for ensuring food security – there is a need for unified approaches to assessing the compliance of important products with national standards and creating green corridors between CICA member states for this category of goods.
- People must always be at the centre of efforts. President Tokayev stated that rconomic measures can be considered effective only if they are focused on the human dimension, and development of human resources.
Background information on the CICA
Established at the initiative of Kazakhstan in 1992, CICA is an inter-governmental organisation for enhancing cooperation towards peace, security and stability in Asia.
It unites 27 member states (encompassing 90 percent of the Asian continent), 9 observer states, 5 observer international organisations and 5 partner organisations.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the CICA.
CICA’s aims
- Environmental cooperation
- Preventing proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their eventual elimination
- Designing a confidence building measure to address humanitarian issues
- Counteraction to illicit drug production and trafficking
- Promoting trade and economic cooperation
- Eliminating threats of terrorism
- Promoting mutual respect, understanding, and tolerance