Yet another important event in the history of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) took place on 23 July 2023 - the planting of the organization’s flag on Kanysh Satpayev Peak located near Almaty at an altitude of 4317 meters above sea level.
This event marked the successes of CICA over the past years and its commitment to achieving the goals set. The action was aimed at strengthening confidence and cooperation among Member States, as well as promoting a healthy lifestyle and developing mountain tourism.
The event, organized by the CICA Secretariat together with the Akimat of Almaty and supported by the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Republic of Kazakhstan, brought together CICA Secretary General Ambassador Kairat Sarybay, Chairwoman of the International Affairs, Defence and Security Committee of the Majilis (lower house) of the Parliament of Kazakhstan Aigul Kuspan, Ambassador of Tajikistan to Kazakhstan Khayrullo Ibodzoda, Ambassador of Israel to Kazakhstan Edwin Nathan Yabo Glusman, as well as representatives of diplomatic missions accredited in Kazakhstan.
Almaty was chosen for a reason. It was here that the two fundamental documents were adopted, paving the way for the development of the organization: the Declaration on the Principles Guiding Relations between the CICA Member States in 1999 and the Almaty Act in 2002. Moreover, Almaty is a major cultural, economic and tourist hub, as was evidenced during the presentation of the city and its development prospects.
The participants highly appreciated the efforts of the organizers and stressed the importance of developing an active lifestyle, as well as noted the systematic efforts of CICA to strengthen peace, stability and security in the region.
At an altitude of more than 4,000 meters, Secretary General Kairat Sarybay congratulated the participants on reaching the summit and thanked Member States for the continued support of the Secretariat’s initiatives to hold cultural and sports events. A parallel was noted between the peak reached and the high bar that the Member States set for CICA by launching its transformation. He also noted that informal gatherings under the CICA flag are becoming an established tradition in order to strengthen understanding, cooperation and exchange between people not only to maintain peace and stability, but also to achieve goals of sustainable development.
