On 12-14 September 2024, the Secretary General of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) Ambassador Kairat Sarybay participated in the 11th Beijing Xiangshan Forum held under the theme “Promoting Peace for a Shared Future”.
The Xiangshan Forum is an annual event organized by the Chinese Ministry of Defense to focus on building and promoting dialogue on security issues. This year’s forum was attended by more than 90 delegates from countries around the world and international organizations.
Speaking at the plenary session “International Mechanisms and Global Security Governance”, the Secretary General stressed the increasing role of Asia in shaping security and global development in the 21st century. Noting the need for multilateral efforts to address pressing issues, Kairat Sarybay pointed out the potential of CICA to consolidate the countries of the region. He emphasized cooperation in the military-political and economic dimensions, where Member States work together on issues of arms control, economic connectivity and infrastructure development.
Attention was also paid to climate change as one of the key challenges for the region. The Secretary General highlighted the recent initiatives of CICA, including the Ministerial Conference on Environmental Issues held in Astana on 28 August. In a high-level statement adopted at the Conference, the heads of environmental departments from CICA Member States reaffirmed their commitment to cooperation, sharing of experience and joint resolution of urgent environmental issues.
Furthermore, Kairat Sarybay highlighted a number of important initiatives aimed at enhancing cooperation within the organization. For instance, the CICA Fund, established in 2022, has begun its practical operations and is becoming a valuable tool for providing development assistance and humanitarian aid in natural and human-made disasters and crises.
The CICA Finance Summit’s institutionalization will create conditions for sustainable economic growth and regional financial cooperation. The successful operation of the CICA Business Council, founded in 2014 as one of the organization's earliest permanent institutions, also attests to the relevance of the economic dimension of cooperation. The Business Council includes representatives from business associations and government bodies of CICA Member States.
CICA also aims to promote the development of interconnected and efficient infrastructure, including the integration of various types of transport, energy, trade and communication networks, as well as enhanced logistics efficiency. In this respect, at the Sixth CICA Summit in 2022, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev proposed to establish the CICA Council on Sustainable Connectivity.
The CICA Partnership Network of Leading Universities, set to be inaugurated later this year, will strengthen the interaction among the Member States in education, innovation, research and technological development. Currently, the CICA Member States are actively cooperating through the Youth Council, the first permanent CICA institution, established in 2014. The Think Tank Forum, another permanent structure of CICA that brings together leading research institutes from the Member States, aims to offer recommendations to governments on the most pressing and critical issues.
In conclusion, the Secretary General reiterated CICA's commitment to regional cooperation, highlighting that the future of international security depends on multilateral diplomacy and collective efforts to address global challenges.
While in Beijing, Secretary General Kairat Sarybay also visited the Secretariat of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and met with SCO Secretary-General Zhang Ming. The sides discussed the prospects for cooperation between the two Secretariats, considering the SCO reforms and CICA's transformation into a full-fledged regional international organization. Kairat Sarybay expressed his appreciation to Zhang Ming for his personal involvement in strengthening the interaction between CICA and the SCO. During the discussion, both sides underlined how the activities of the two multilateral structures complement each other in advancing peace, stability and cooperation across the vast region.
