Honourable Deputy Secretary General, Ambassador Voronkov,
Excellencies,
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen,
I am grateful for the invitation to address such a representative gathering.
The threat of terrorism remains a critical issue for the world community, continually evolving and presenting complex challenges that demand ongoing vigilance and robust international cooperation. The global nature of this threat means that no single nation is immune, underscoring the urgent need for collaborative efforts to counter its various manifestations and protect shared security.
The Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, which brings together 28 Member States and 10 Observer States, attaches great importance to building joint efforts to counter the terrorist threat. As a component of the "New challenges and threats" dimension, the "Combating terrorism" priority area is found within the CICA Catalogue of Confidence Building Measures – a document widely recognized for its unique nature in multilateral diplomacy.
I welcome the establishment of the Counter-Terrorism Compact in 2018 as part of Secretary-General António Guterres’ reform of the UN counter-terrorism architecture, which has become the largest inter-agency coordination structure in the United Nations system.
I also welcome the adoption of the 2024-2026 Joint Programme of Work at the tenth meeting of the Counter-Terrorism Compact Coordination Committee on 24 January 2024, one of the strategic priorities of which is advancing partnerships with regional entities.
I appreciate adoption on 22 September 2024, of the Pact for the Future, where Action 23 (c) reaffirms the need to enhance coordination of the United Nations counter-terrorism efforts and cooperation between the UN and relevant regional and subregional organizations to prevent and combat terrorism in accordance with international law.
CICA has established a network of partnerships and cooperation with various international organizations, including the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and its Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure. Last year, the CICA Member States approved establishing partnership relations with the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism.
The Sixth CICA Summit, held in Astana on 12-13 October 2022, adopted an important document, the “CICA Plan of Action on the Implementation of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy (GCTS)”. This Plan, has become the most comprehensive regional document of its kind.
Equally, the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism played a key role in the development and approval of the CICA Plan, to which we are deeply grateful for its invaluable assistance. I would like once again to thank Ambassador Vladimir Voronkov for participating in the CICA Senior Officials Committee meeting on 23 June 2021, where he stressed the importance of all countries joining efforts to combat terrorism and encouraged the CICA Member States to work together.
CICA Secretariat stands ready to continue contributing to global regional efforts in the fight against terrorism. Our Member States have the opportunity to share the best practices and lessons learned in the implementation of confidence building measures.
For instance, in 2023 India, which acts as the coordinator of the priority area of the fight against terrorism, held a seminar on countering radicalization. Türkiye, which is a co-coordinator in this field, for a number of years has been regularly organizing courses and seminars for law enforcement officers of the CICA Member States, including on counter-terrorism. In August this year, Egypt plans to organize a seminar on solutions to confront the rising threat of extremism leading to terrorism.
In conclusion, I would like to thank the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism for the excellent organization of this event and wish the meeting all the success. Dear colleagues, the CICA Secretariat is always open to contact and cooperate with all of you.
Thank you for your attention.
