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Statement of CICA Executive Director Ambassador Kairat Sarybay at the briefing held by Kazakhstan's Foreign Minister for foreign diplomatic corps on current situation in the country


I thank Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Mukhtar Tileuberdi for the invitation to this briefing and detailed information about the events of early January and the relevant measures taken by the Government of Kazakhstan.

At the outset, I express deep condolences to the families and friends of all the victims of terrorist attacks in Kazakhstan.

I reaffirm my full support for the measures taken by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and the Government of Kazakhstan to counter terrorist activities, de-escalate the situation and ensure public security and social stability in the country.

I express my gratitude to the citizens of Kazakhstan, who showed civic responsibility and remained calm during the “hot phase” of the crisis. I turned out to be an eyewitness of the events in Almaty and state with responsibility that the actions of law enforcement agencies were balanced, strictly in accordance with the law and commensurate to the evolving situation. I also confirm that the police acted adequately on peaceful protests, however, extremist and rogue elements took advantage of the protests, what led to surge of violence in the city against law enforcement forces, citizens and their property.

The speech of President Tokayev in the Majilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan presented a deep analysis of root causes of the emerged crisis, as well as measures to overcome it.

I confirm that the CICA Member States are sincerely interested in the early normalization of the situation in Kazakhstan, as evidenced by my contacts with representatives of individual Member States.

The assistance of Kazakhstan's partners in the CSTO has confirmed in practice the demand for multilateral formats of cooperation in Asia and the importance of multilateralism in countering modern security challenges.

Given the multifaceted nature of these challenges, especially their root causes, cooperation within the framework of CICA, which is a “soft security” forum, has great potential to assist international measures to prevent events like the Almaty tragedy.

In particular, as part of the comprehensive mandate of CICA that includes all five dimensions of interaction, CICA Member States can expand cooperation and exchange best practices in the following areas:

-    fight against organized crime and international terrorism;

-    addressing the issue of foreign fighters;

-    cooperation in the field of combating the financing of terrorism;

-    uncompromising fight against corruption in the international format;

-    eradication of poverty and ensuring sustainable and inclusive economic growth;

-    cooperation in the area of interethnic and interreligious relations;

-    development of civil society institutions and human rights education.

These are just some preliminary proposals on areas of work that can be significantly expanded by the Member States and the CICA Chairmanship.

In conclusion, I would like to once again express my deep gratitude to Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Foreign Affairs Mukhtar Tileuberdi for our meeting and the opportunity to express my support to the Government of Kazakhstan. I am confident that these temporary difficulties will be overcome by the steadfast and courageous people of Kazakhstan with honor and dignity.


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