8 February 2024 – Moscow – Secretary General of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) Ambassador Kairat Sarybay undertook a working visit to Moscow, where he met with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov, held consultations with several senior officials of the Russian Foreign Ministry and engaged with representatives of the Russian business and academic communities.
During the meeting with Sergey Lavrov, the counterparts deliberated on the ongoing processes within the CICA area, the prospects for further development of this platform, as well as Russia's participation and contribution to CICA. The Minister reiterated Russia's continued support for the work of the Conference. In response, Kairat Sarybay commended Russia's efforts within CICA, the country’s numerous initiatives aimed at strengthening the Conference and its transformation into a full-fledged international organization.
Ways of implementing the decision of the Sixth CICA Summit to launch the CICA transformation, the prospects for this process and its stages were extensively addressed at the talks with Andrey Rudenko, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, and Alexey Ovchinnikov, Director of the Asian and Pacific Cooperation Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia and the Russian senior official in CICA. The meeting highlighted CICA's distinctive role in the current geopolitical environment and the high added value of its inclusiveness and flexible approach.
The parties expressed satisfaction with the alignment of views and approaches towards the upcoming reforms. The meeting participants discussed the CICA activities scheduled for this year. In particular, they covered the preparations for the CICA Rally of Volunteer Movement Leaders and Youth Council meeting dedicated to volunteerism (Astana, 16-17 May), as well as the CICA Ministerial Conference on Environmental Issues, along with the Business Council and Business Forum meetings slated for the second half of 2024. The meeting also touched upon other relevant issues of interaction within CICA.
At the meeting with Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Aleksandr Pankin, the counterparts considered the prospects of CICA in the context of the emerging network structure of interaction among multilateral mechanisms and international organizations in the vast expanse of the Eurasian continent. The important role of CICA was noted in the development of connectivity, including the strengthening of economic, technological, humanitarian, cultural and other ties.
In a conversation with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, the Secretary General discussed the current situation in West Asia and the potential of CICA in establishing a dialogue between interested parties in order to ease tensions and find conditions for sustainable peace in the region.
An exchange of views took place with the Director of the Second Asian Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, the Special Representative of the President of Russia for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, on the prospects for the return of Afghanistan, a CICA Member State, to the system of international relations and the possible contribution of CICA to international efforts to assist this country.
The Secretary General also held a meeting with Alexander Lukin, Director of the MGIMO Center for China, East Asian and SCO Studies, representing Russia in the CICA Think Tank Forum. Specific measures and initiatives were discussed to intensify this permanent mechanism for interaction in order to provide scientific and analytical support to all CICA Member States.
During the visit, the CICA Secretary General met with Nikita Bantsekin, Deputy Director General of JSC Federal Corporation for the Development of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, and Pavel Kondrashov, Head of the International Cooperation Directorate of the SME Corporation, Deputy Chairman of the Board of the CICA Business Council. The parties discussed various aspects of the CICA Business Council, its activities during the intersessional period, new initiatives aimed at supporting international cooperation among the small and medium enterprises of CICA countries.
Secretary General K. Sarybay also gave an extensive interview to one of the leading newspapers “Rossiyskaya Gazeta”.
This trip was the first in a series of working visits by the CICA Secretary General in 2024 as part of discussions held with the Member States on the CICA transformation and issues of interaction within the Forum.
Media contact:
Akbota Batyrkhan
Public Relations Officer
Email: a.batyrkhan@s-cica.org
Phone number: +7 (777) 036-26-58
