Statement of Executive Director of the CICA Secretariat Ambassador K. Sarybay at the Signing Ceremony for the CICA Secretariat's Roadmap to implement the Concept priorities of Kazakhstan's Chairmanship in CICA for 2020-2022
03 February 2021
CICA Secretariat, Nur-Sultan
Excellencies,
Distinguished Murat Nurtleu,
Distinguished Shakhrat Nuryshev,
It is a great pleasure for me to welcome you to the CICA Secretariat!
Aide to the President, Ambassador Murat Nurtleu, on behalf of the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, is visiting the CICA headquarters for the first time to find out more about the activities of the Secretariat; it is a great honor for us.
Ambassador Shakhrat Nuryshev already had the opportunity to visit this iconic building in the historical center of the capital - on October 1, 2020, it was the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan who introduced the new Executive Director of the Secretariat to its staff members.
Meanwhile, many very important events have taken place over the past four months:
- the Chairmanship and the Secretariat held an informative joint briefing for the diplomatic corps of the CICA countries;
- the Senior Officials Committee and the Special Working Group held productive meetings;
- it was decided to introduce the Confidence Building Measure "Cooperation in Epidemiological Safety, Public Health and Pharmaceuticals" into the CICA Confidence Building Measures Catalogue;
- CICA introduced a new title for the professional personnel of the Secretariat in three categories, according to the UN model, which enables Member States to second diplomats with different professional experience.
We are encouraged by the intention of the Government of Kazakhstan to strongly increase the capacity of the CICA Secretariat, which will effectively promote the priorities of the Kazakh CICA Chairmanship.
On my part, I want to assure you that the international composition of the Secretariat is aware of its responsibility for the implementation of the tasks set and is ready to make every effort to achieve the noble goals of the Conference. Today, diplomats from China (Ms. Chi Fang, Deputy Executive Director), Russia (specialist Mrs. Evgeniia Krasnikova), India (specialist Mr. Dharmendra Singh) and Kazakhstan (specialists Mrs. Sholpan Yelkeyeva and Mrs. Madina Muratbekova) work selflessly in the Secretariat. We are awaiting the consent of the Member States to appoint Mr. Murat Janikeev as a specialist. All diplomats and staff members are keenly aware of Article 7 of the Staff Regulations of the Secretariat and strongly uphold the international nature of the Secretariat. In performance of their functions at the Secretariat, the personnel shall neither seek nor accept instructions from any government or from any other authority outside the Secretariat.
I would like to emphasize the role of the well-known diplomat, Ambassador Doulat Kuanyshev, who has kindly agreed to make his significant contribution as an expert in military-political affairs. Among the experienced staff members of the Secretariat, I would like to highlight Head of Finance Ms. Magira Rushanova, Office Manager Mrs. Assel Nokeyeva. The work of the Chancery (Alibek Sagidulla) and the Legal Service (Sultan Amirkhanov) is getting better. Thanks to the thorough selection process organized by Human Resources Manager Mrs. Saule Yermekbayeva, a number of new persons have been hired in the last three months.
The new members of the Secretariat include young people with experience in the diplomatic field (Zarina Kanafiyenova, worked in the embassies of India and the United States in Kazakhstan, and Meiram Islam, with experience in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan – translators, Elvira Nurzhan with experience in the media and diplomatic mission of Kazakhstan in Budapest will be engaged in information and analytical work), as well as graduates of the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna (Symbat Tanaguzova, assistant of the Executive Director) and the University of California, Berkeley (Nursultan Mussinov – informational and analytical work). The information and communication domain of the Secretariat has been strengthened with the arrival of Kairat Shingozhinov.
Excellencies,
The Kazakh Chairmanship sets out to hold the CICA Summit in 2022 and the Sixth CICA Ministerial Meeting this year with high efficiency. The Secretariat will do its utmost to facilitate and support the efforts of the Chairmanship.
Today, our meeting will be marked by the signing of the Roadmap for the implementation of the Concept priorities of the Kazakh CICA Chairmanship for 2020-2022, developed by the Secretariat.
The Roadmap is the Secretariat's action plan integrating the objectives of four documents: Chairmanship Concept, Confidence-Building Measures Catalogue, Cooperative Approach for the Implementation of Confidence-Building Measures, CICA Plan on Confidence-Building Measures for 2021. This document is rather flexible and will be updated every six months.
The Secretariat has a lot of work to do, closely interacting with the CICA Chairmanship and Member States on the five main dimensions.
Among the most pressing tasks for the coming biennium are the modernization of the CICA Catalogue of Confidence Building Measures, the approval of the Council of Eminent Persons, further institutionalization and active implementation of confidence-building measures.
In conclusion, let me once again express my heartfelt gratitude to our distinguished guests for their attention. I look forward to your continued support for the work of the Secretariat.
Let me invite Mr. Shakhrat Nuryshev to the signing ceremony of the Roadmap.
Thank you!
