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CICA Secretary General visits Tehran




Secretary General of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) Ambassador Kairat Sarybay visited Tehran on 29-30 May 2023.

During the visit, he was received by H.E. President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Dr. Ebrahim Raisi, met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and high-level officials of Iran. The visit was part of the consultation process on transformation of CICA into an international organization launched in October 2022 by the Sixth CICA Summit in Astana in the context of growing role of Asia in global affairs and high expectations from CICA as a unique platform for pan-Asian dialogue.

H.E. Dr. Raisi reassured the Secretary General of Iran’s solid support to strengthening the CICA process, stressed that CICA has huge potential in promoting multilateralism in the global context, and noted that the status of CICA, its Secretary General and Secretariat should be further elevated. The President highlighted good and fraternal relations of Iran with its neighbours and expressed the readiness of Iran to share its useful experience gained in all areas of socio-economic development, science and technology, and addressing security challenges, such as the fight against terrorism, drug trafficking and organized crime. President Raisi particularly noted Iran’s support for boosting sustainable connectivity across Asia, economic consolidation of the region and empowerment of women and youth.

The CICA Secretary General expressed appreciation for Iran’s wise foreign policy and contribution to peace, security and confidence in Asia, the continent that has become the driver of global development. He thanked President Raisi for strong support of CICA, its transformation process and its path towards building an “Asia spirit”.

Ambassador Sarybay commended Iran's active participation in CICA activities in the area of counter-terrorism and natural disaster management and invited Iran to engage in other areas of cooperation within the CICA framework. Referring to the initiative of President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on promoting sustainable connectivity, Secretary General Sarybay particularly noted the great potential of making the Caspian Sea a connectivity hub for the entire Asia.

At the meeting with Foreign Minister Dr. Hossein Amir-Abdollahian the CICA Secretary General provided detailed overview of current CICA activities, highlighted good progress achieved in the development of the Road Map for CICA Transformation which is expected to be endorsed at the informal CICA Ministerial Council meeting in September 2023 in New York.

Minister Amir-Abdollahian expressed appreciation of the role of CICA and efforts of the Secretary General in strengthening relations among its Member States, reaffirmed Iran’s continuous support to raising the status of CICA and proposed that CICA actively engage in analyzing the ongoing evolution of the global order.

The Iranian Foreign Minister and the Secretary General also discussed specific topical issues of future CICA Chairmanships and accession of new observer states to CICA, which in view of the Minister are in good progress and will reach a point of positive consideration.

During the visit, Ambassador Sarybay held in-depth consultations with Mr. Asadollah Eshragh Jahromi, Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran, on specific directions and approaches to the CICA transformation process, in which he reaffirmed that consensus would remain CICA’s fundamental principle of decision-making. The Iranian side expressed support to the content of the transformation road map and assured of Iran’s active engagement and constructive approach to the process.

The CICA Secretary General and the Director General of the Foreign Ministry of Iran shared the view that CICA has a vital role and high potential in strengthening stability in Asia through fostering political dialogue, economic links, and trade and transport connectivity among its Member States.

As part of his visit to Tehran, the Secretary General held a Q&A session with Iranian journalists about the development of the forum, current challenges and promising directions of CICA activities, as well as shared assessments of his meetings with Iranian officials.


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