18 September 2024, Astana – The Secretariat of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) hosted a working lunch for ambassadors of CICA Member States accredited in Astana, with the participation of H.E. Mr. Alibek Bakayev, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan.
The event highlighted Kazakhstan’s key achievements during its Chairmanship from 2020 to 2024 and CICA's main activities in the first quarter of 2024, setting the stage for Azerbaijan to assume the CICA Chairmanship in December 2024, as decided by the CICA Ministerial Council in March 2024.
Deputy Minister Bakayev provided an overview of major CICA achievements and updated participants on the progress of implementing Kazakh Chairmanship priorities outlined by President Tokayev at the 5th CICA Summit in Dushanbe and the 6th CICA Summit in Astana. Mr. Bakayev highlighted the 2022 Astana Statement on Transformation as the most significant achievement of the past four years, followed by the adoption of the Road Map for CICA Transformation by the Ministerial Council in 2023. He emphasized the fully updated CICA Catalogue of CBMs and the establishment of three new permanent institutions: the Council of Eminent Persons (CEP), the Think Tank Forum (TTF), and the CICA Fund.
He also noted the expansion of the CICA family with one new Member State, two Observer States, and one partner organization, and stressed that the construction of a building for CICA headquarters, initiated by President Tokayev, reflects Kazakhstan’s continued commitment as the founding and host state.
In his address, Secretary General Kairat Sarybay reported on significant progress made in implementation of the transformation roadmap in 2024. A key milestone was the elaboration and submission to the Member States of the draft CICA Charter in August 2024, as well as the draft updated CICA Rules of Procedure. As stated by the Secretary General, the CICA Charter would be the quintessence of the transformation process and its adoption - the culmination of this process. Ambassador Sarybay provided detailed updates on ongoing activities of the Secretariat and CICA advisory bodies, as well as on progress in strengthening cooperation with other international organizations of the UN system and increasing CICA’s visibility.
H.E. Dr. Montaser Abu Zeid, Ambassador of Palestine, commended Kazakhstan’s leadership during its CICA Chairmanship, congratulated Azerbaijan on its upcoming assumption of the chairmanship role, and reaffirmed Palestine’s commitment to supporting CICA’s transformation into a full-fledged international organization.
H.E. Mr. Nauman Bashir Bhatti, Ambassador of Pakistan, and H.E. Mr. Cho Tae-ick, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea, also praised Kazakhstan’s Chairmanship and expressed support for CICA’s transformation, with Ambassador Cho highlighting the need for mandatory contributions to the CICA budget to further enhance CICA’s capabilities. Both ambassadors thanked Secretary General Sarybay for his productive visits to their countries.
Mr. Siroj Rajabov, Counsellor at the Embassy of Tajikistan, emphasized CICA’s role in promoting multilateral cooperation, addressing challenges such as terrorism, drug trafficking, and cybercrime, while calling for greater collaboration on water management and climate change.
Participants of the event expressed support for continuing such informal meetings to strengthen political dialogue and cooperation within CICA.
Please see the attachments for the full text of Mr. Bakayev's statement and the presentation:
