Meeting under Azerbaijan’s Chairmanship will review CICA’s development and define priorities for a changing world
15 October 2026, Baku – The Seventh Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) will be held in Baku under the Chairmanship of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The meeting will review CICA’s development since the launch of its transformation in 2022 and the achievements of Azerbaijan’s Chairmanship in strengthening the organization and advancing practical cooperation among Member States.
Guided by the motto “Stronger CICA: Connectivity, Digitalization and Sustainable Growth in Asia”, Azerbaijan has promoted dialogue and results-oriented cooperation during its 2024–2026 Chairmanship. Its initiatives have brought fresh impetus to practical interaction across CICA’s five dimensions: military-political, new challenges and threats, economic, environmental and human.
At its meeting in Baku on 14 October 2026, the CICA Senior Officials Committee (SOC) approved the draft Baku Declaration of the Seventh CICA Summit, the draft CICA Statement on Cooperation in the Field of Occupational Safety and Health, and the draft Summit decision on the appointment of the CICA Secretary General, recommending their adoption at the forthcoming Summit.
Further decisions by the SOC included the extension of Azerbaijan’s Chairmanship for the 2026–2028 term, along with approval of the draft decision appointing the candidate nominated by Azerbaijan as CICA Secretary General for 2026–2030. Member States acknowledged the valuable contribution of outgoing Secretary General Ambassador Kairat Sarybay during his six-year tenure.
H.E. Mr. Thongsavanh Phomvihane, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lao PDR, signed the organization’s founding documents on the sidelines of the SOC meeting in Baku on 14 October. Building on these steps, the Summit is also expected to consider Lao PDR’s accession as a Member State. This prospective expansion reflects CICA’s growing appeal as an inclusive regional organization promoting dialogue, confidence building and practical cooperation across Asia.
The wider interest accompanies CICA’s ongoing institutional development. The Astana Statement on Transformation adopted in 2022 launched a structured, inclusive and transparent negotiation process for its gradual and consensus-based transformation into a full-fledged regional international organization. An eight-point Road Map provides a practical framework for strengthening CICA’s institutions, legal personality and cooperation mechanisms.
Transformation involves institutionalizing the governing bodies and strengthening Secretariat, developing cooperation mechanisms and improving CICA’s capacity to translate dialogue into practical results. Throughout this process, sovereign equality, consensus, inclusiveness and confidence building remain CICA’s guiding principles.
Cambodia’s ratification of the Convention on Privileges and Immunities of CICA, approved by its Senate, marks another important milestone in strengthening the organization’s legal foundations. As the fourteenth Member State to ratify the Convention, Cambodia has fulfilled the ratification requirement for its entry into force on 8 November 2026. This is an important milestone in the institutional development of CICA. In particular, the Convention will provide the Secretariat with the legal capacity necessary to exercise its functions in the territory of each Party. It will also grant privileges and immunities to representatives of the Parties, as well as to the Secretariat and its personnel, enabling them to perform their official functions effectively and independently.
CICA’s institutional development is increasingly translating into practical cooperation that connects regional priorities with tangible benefits for businesses and communities. Two new advisory bodies – the CICA Women Council and the CICA Finance Summit – were launched under Azerbaijan’s Chairmanship, with their inaugural meetings held in Baku in April 2026 and Astana in September 2026, respectively.
These new mechanisms complement the systematic and consistent work of CICA’s existing advisory bodies – the Business Council, the Youth Council, the Think Tank Forum and the Council of Eminent Persons – whose mandates cover business cooperation, youth engagement, analytical exchange and strategic guidance. Together with the expanding Partnership Network of Leading Universities, the new mechanisms have opened further opportunities for women’s leadership, financial cooperation and academic exchange. The CICA Fund gives these efforts a direct human dimension through projects supporting farmers in Afghanistan and youth-led climate action in Bangladesh.
The Summit will consider these achievements while looking ahead to the challenges of a changing world. Against a backdrop of geopolitical uncertainty and a growing trust deficit, the Baku Summit is expected to reaffirm the value of inclusive multilateral dialogue and reinforce Asia’s contribution to international security and cooperation.
CICA traces its origins to an initiative put forward by Kazakhstan at the 47th Session of the United Nations General Assembly on 5 October 1992. Today, CICA is a pan-Asian intergovernmental organization dedicated to promoting peace, security and stability through dialogue and confidence building measures.
