Astana, 4 December 2024 – The Senior Officials Committee (SOC) meeting was held at the Kazakh Foreign Ministry, chaired by First Deputy Foreign Minister Akan Rakhmetullin and Ambassador-at-Large Talgat Kaliyev, with participation of CICA Secretary General Ambassador Kairat Sarybay.
CICA Senior Officials discussed key documents for adoption by the Ministerial Council meeting scheduled for December 2024, where the CICA Chairmanship will pass on from Kazakhstan to Azerbaijan. Main outcomes of the SOC meeting included updates to the CICA Catalogue of Confidence Building Measures (CBMs), introducing new CBM on volunteerism to enhance civic engagement.
The Committee also approved the 2025 Plan of Implementation of CBMs and the CICA Secretariat’s budget for 2025, reviewed the 2024 annual report of the Secretariat and expressed appreciation to the CICA Secretary General.
Deliberations at the SOC meeting once again reaffirmed CICA Member States’ commitment to advancing cooperation and dialogue in Asia through the CICA platform and prepared the ground for discussions and decision-making at the upcoming Ministerial Council meeting. The SOC agreed to reconvene on 10 December 2024 in an online mode.
