Distinguished Aizada Kurmanova,
Honourable delegates and guests of the meeting,
ladies and gentlemen,
It is my pleasure to welcome all participants of the Seventh Meeting of the CICA Youth Council, and I would first like to extend my sincere appreciation to the Kazakh Chairmanship, represented by the Ministry of Culture and Information, for its outstanding and diligent efforts in preparing today's event. I would equally like to thank all the delegates who accepted the invitation from the Kazakh side and travelled to Astana to participate in person.
I am encouraged that over the past four years, under the capable guidance of the Kazakh Chairmanship, with the strong support of the Member States and the CICA Secretariat, our forum has made remarkable progress in its consistent evolution.
You will recall that, at Kazakhstan's initiative, the CICA leaders at the Sixth Summit agreed to transform our Conference into a full-fledged international organization. In this timeframe, the key documents of CICA, namely the Rules of Procedure and the Catalogue of Confidence Building Measure, were updated, regulations governing the CICA Think Tank Forum and the Council of Eminent Persons were approved and the CICA Fund was established. The CICA family has further expanded to welcome one additional Member State, Kuwait, and two observers, Turkmenistan and Saudi Arabia. Several other countries, not limited to Asia, are expressing interest in our platform. A partnership has been established with the EAEU, and our dialogue with the UN and its agencies is becoming increasingly stronger.
There is a growing relevance of CICA as an effective pan-Asian mechanism for dialogue and cooperation on a broad range of issues, spanning the military-political dimension, countering new challenges and threats, economic interaction, as well as environmental and humanitarian domains. Overall, it can be said that, over its more than 30 years of existence, CICA has developed into a de facto international organization with a corresponding array of attributes and an established system of bodies that brings together the collective wisdom of Asian countries to promote peace, cooperation, development and security in our vast region.
Distinguished delegates,
An important contribution to the practical implementation of CICA's goals and objectives is made by its advisory and consultative bodies, including the Youth Council founded in 2014. It is encouraging that its activities have become consistently regular over the past four years. The Council held its meetings twice in Astana, and last year, thanks to the efforts of our Uzbek colleagues, it convened in the beautiful Samarkand, one of Central Asia's most ancient cities.
The Council prioritizes issues that are truly vital to our shared region. After all, the future of Asia lies in the hands of young people. I believe that discussions on issues such as youth employment and entrepreneurship, its role in achieving the SDGs by 2030, the prevention of youth radicalization and its involvement in violence and extremist activities have been beneficial and remain relevant.
The focus of the Seventh Meeting of the Youth Council is on volunteering. This new direction of CICA's work was inspired by our leaders at the Sixth Summit, particularly the Presidents of Kazakhstan and Russia. As a result, last year, at the initiative of the Russian side, the CICA Ministerial Council Statement on Promoting Volunteerism for Sustainable Development was adopted, calling on the public, especially young people, to actively participate in volunteer activities.
Furthermore, following the regular review of the implementation of confidence building measures this June, the Senior Officials Committee noted the potential to include volunteering and youth engagement in the set of issues being addressed by the Member States.
The first practical steps in this direction have also been taken. A dedicated section has been launched on the Secretariat's website to share information on national experiences and strategies in the field of volunteerism, Russia has initiated several events this year focusing on volunteerism and youth engagement. I would like to note that the Secretariat also actively supports the volunteer movement by regularly involving volunteers in its events, such as the beautification of the CICA Alley in Astana, bicycle tours and ski tours.
Today, we can see a substantial interim outcome of this work. Following the proposal of President of Kazakhstan Tokayev, Astana is hosting the CICA Rally of Volunteer Movement Leaders. Today and tomorrow, we will have thorough, informative and, I am sure, fascinating discussions on the whole range of issues related to volunteerism, both at the national and global levels.
Considering the interest expressed by Member States, as well as the scale and significance of the event, the Chairmanship proposed to adopt several recommendations from the Youth Council as guidelines for the future work of CICA in the area of volunteerism. In particular, it was suggested to explore the possibility of incorporating relevant provisions into the CICA Catalogue of Confidence Building Measures. For my part, I would like to express my full solidarity with this statement.
Distinguished delegates,
Kazakhstan, which stood at the origins of CICA, will conclude another "watch" of chairmanship in December this year. At the Seventh Ministerial Council Meeting on 19 December, this important mission will be entrusted to Azerbaijan, and the next meeting of the Youth Council will take place under the leadership of our Azerbaijani friends. By the way, Baku has already hosted the Youth Council in 2018. I am convinced that the future Chairmanship will continue to hold high the banner of "youth cooperation", especially since, as far as I know, one of the priorities of the Azerbaijani Chairmanship will be the development of intercultural and intercivilizational dialogue.
Once again, I would like to wish fruitful work and constructive discussions to the Seventh CICA Youth Council Meeting, especially since it is taking place on the eve of the CICA Day, which this year marks its 32nd anniversary. You would likely agree that, by international standards, this is still a quite young organization.
Dear friends,
In conclusion, let me share with you another project of the Secretariat aimed at promoting the role of youth in the development of our region. In 2023-2024, an essay contest was organized for young people on the topic "The Future of Asia We Want: Ideas for the CICA Region." The international jury received 31 works from representatives of 8 Member States.
The contestants addressed a wide range of issues, including environmental sustainability, economic development, cultural heritage, youth empowerment, technological innovation and international diplomacy. The best works demonstrated extensive research, innovative ideas and compliance with the CICA mission. They presented a holistic vision of the future of Asia, considered key issues and offered specific recommendations in line with the CICA principles.
The diverse views and innovative ideas presented can definitely become food for future discussions within the CICA Youth Council and help the organization pave the way for a brighter future.
I propose to listen to our winners at this meeting of the Youth Council, and at the end of the meeting, I will hand them symbolic checks with a well-deserved award.
The first place, according to the credible jury, was taken by a young man from Bahrain, Mohammed Ahmed Ali Maki.
The second place was taken by Rubiat Saimum, a representative of Bangladesh. Rubiat is currently studying in Canada, so he could not come to us, but thanks to modern information technologies, he can join us.
The honourable third place was taken by the representative of Kazakhstan Aisulu Almash.
Congratulations to the winners!
Thank you for your attention.
Astana, 3 October 2024
