Baku, Azerbaijan
14 April 2026
Excellencies,
Distinguished Chairmanship of Azerbaijan,
Distinguished members of the Women Council,
Dear colleagues, ladies and gentlemen,
It is a great honour for me to welcome you to the inaugural session of the Women Council of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia. Today, we gather at a special moment for CICA – a decisive stage when our collective resolve for the promotion of gender equality and women’s empowerment in Asia is now being concretized through the functioning of a dedicated institutional body. I have the pleasure of congratulating the distinguished members of this new Council.
The establishment of the CICA Women Council is not merely the creation of another advisory body. It reflects our determination to transform dialogue into action and make governance more inclusive through meaningful participation of women in all relevant spheres of life.
At the outset, I would like to express my deep appreciation to the Azerbaijani Chairmanship for initiating the establishment of the Women Council. Thanks to your foresight and dedication, we now have the opportunity not only to strengthen the institutional foundations of CICA but also to add greater substance and strategic depth to our work.
Over the years, CICA has undergone a significant evolution – from an initiative into a mature multilateral platform bringing together Asian states around the shared goal of strengthening peace, stability and cooperation across a wide range of issues.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Today, Asia is facing challenges that make the mission of CICA even more relevant than ever. Geopolitical turbulence, economic instability and growing social and humanitarian needs require us to be not only a platform for dialogue, but also a source of concrete initiatives capable of strengthening confidence, ensuring coordination and promoting peace, security, stability and sustainable development across the region.
In recent years, the Organization has been actively developing its advisory framework – the Business Council, Youth Council, Think Tank Forum, Eminent Persons Council, and the Partnership Network of Leading Universities. These structures enhance the ability of CICA Member States to adapt to contemporary challenges. The Women Council fits organically into this architecture, adding a new substantive dimension and creating space for the systematic inclusion of women’s experience, expertise and their effective participation in decision-making processes.
The Catalogue of Confidence Building Measures constitutes an important foundation for the work of all CICA advisory bodies, reflecting the Organization’s comprehensive approach to strengthening confidence, ensuring security and promoting cooperation in the region through coordinated strategies and implementation of joint measures. In this context, I remain confident that the Women Council will be able to effectively utilize this instrument to integrate the gender dimension across all key areas of CICA’s work.
The intrinsic value of the Women Council lies in its ability to generate ideas and practices that will strengthen the socio-economic and humanitarian dimensions of CICA’s activities. The Asian region has long been home to remarkable women who have challenged stereotypes and contributed to shaping more inclusive and resilient societies. Many have assumed leadership roles at the highest levels, driving transformative change through their vision and commitment. Women across Asia continue to play an essential role in advancing social progress and ensuring that girls and women have access to opportunities at all levels.
Today, approximately two billion women live in CICA Member States. The Women Council provides an important platform for their meaningful participation in decision-making processes and sustainable development, which is particularly vital in times of complexity and turbulence.
We visualize the Women Council as a platform capable of promoting coordination, dialogue and the exchange of best practices on issues related to gender equality, the empowerment of women and the overall improvement of their status, taking into account the diversity of experiences of CICA Member States.
The success of the Council will depend on in-depth analysis, development of joint recommendations in alignment with the overall goals and objectives of CICA and strengthened synergy with other CICA advisory bodies.
In order to fully realize the role and potential of women within the CICA framework, the following activities are proposed within the Council’s work:
At a time when the Asian region and the world at large are undergoing profound changes and facing unprecedented challenges, it is especially important that the voice of women is heard not on the periphery, but at the centre of decision-making processes on peace and security issues and in ensuring inclusive development and sustained prosperity.
It is well recognized that from peace-building and conflict resolution to climate action and digital innovation, women across our region can play, and must be enabled to play a transformative role. As highlighted earlier today, women are powerful agents of change. Their voices, experiences and leadership must be fully integrated into policy-making at national, regional and international levels. In the process, we must overcome the institutional and systematic challenges that girls and women still continue to face in claiming their rightful places in our societies.
Against this backdrop, the CICA Women Council is called upon to become a mechanism that connects national efforts with the regional and global agenda and contributes practical inputs to the shaping of a more sustainable, just and secure future for women in Asia.
Distinguished members of the Council, I count on your active, focused and substantive engagement. May the Women Council become not only a source of ideas, but more importantly, a driver of concrete solutions through deepening of cooperation and exchange of successful models to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment across Asia and beyond, as appropriate.
I wish you all success as you embark on your noble mission. In this journey, every effort counts. Let me assure you of the CICA Secretariat’s full support to this end.
Thank you for your attention.
