CICA flag orbits the Earth
The CICA Secretariat congratulates the CICA Member States and all humankind on the great and significant date – the 60th anniversary since the first manned flight into space on April 12, 1961.
This historic event was a bright and momentous turn for the whole world. It opened a new chapter in the exploration of outer space for the benefit of all countries and peoples of the Earth, and the date of April 12 by a resolution of the UN General Assembly has been rightfully inscribed in the world chronicle as the International Day of Human Space Flight.
Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed that “the International Day of Human Space Flight will remind us of our common humanity and our need to work together to conquer shared challenges." Today, these words are more than ever in tune with the spirit of CICA – a multilateral forum for dialogue, a “safe haven” in the stormy sea of international relations and a “launching pad” for confidence building measures aimed at global security.
On the eve of the 60th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's flight into space and on the eve of the 30th anniversary since the launch of the CICA initiative, the CICA flag was successfully delivered to the Earth's orbit by the crew of the Yuri Gagarin Spacecraft, which was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on April 9, 2021. Thus, the ideas of peace, security and stability shared by the 27 Asian states have rocketed to the cosmic heights, and the flag of our forum has been flied to a level representing that the principles and goals of the CICA Member States are of global importance.
It is also symbolic that Kazakhstan, which was the site of Yuri Gagarin's space launch 60 years ago, became the country that launched the noble initiative to create CICA from the high rostrum of the United Nations almost 30 years ago.
The CICA Secretariat expresses confidence that the lofty humanistic ideas of CICA will soar to even greater heights, while the goals and objectives of the forum will be successfully achieved by the community of Asian states.
