Distinguished Chair,
Honourable delegates,
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
At the outset, let me convey my gratitude to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) for giving me the opportunity to deliver a statement on such a pivotal theme.
The Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) is a unique consensus-based multilateral platform for enhancing cooperation toward promoting peace, security, and stability in Asia. Today CICA brings together 28 Member States which covers 90% of the territory of Asia and more than a half of the world’s population.
The CICA provides Member States with an equitable platform to exchange ideas, disseminate knowledge, and engage in collaborative efforts across five overarching dimensions: military-political, emerging challenges and threats, economic, environmental and human.
CICA's environmental dimension together with sustainable development, environment protection and natural disaster management priority areas, contribute to the goal of CICA from an environmental perspective. Environmental problems in Asia, driven by climate change, pose unprecedented challenges to our region. These challenges, in turn, led to climate migration, displacing millions of people and aggravating socio-economic vulnerabilities. Climate migration has manifested in numerous ways in Asia. For instance, millions of people have been displaced due to floods in South Asia.
To effectively address these issues, regional and international collaborations are not just beneficial; they are essential. CICA, with its diverse membership and platform for dialogue, is well-positioned to facilitate cooperation and foster trust among Asian nations. Besides, CICA can build consensus on regional strategies to manage environmental problems, minimize their impacts, and mitigate the necessity for climate migration.
In order to increase the awareness of CICA Member States, various seminars, workshops, expert meetings and online training are conducted under the CICA environmental dimension. The discussion generally focuses on green transformation, current problems of the region, environmental resilience, circular economy, sustainable development, and risk reduction management. Member States find value in sharing their experiences to collectively address environmental challenges.
In 2022, during the CICA Summit, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev put forward several initiatives to strengthen further cooperation in the environmental dimension, which include holding a High-level Environmental Conference in Astana in 2024 to identify environmental issues and develop coordinated solutions in the CICA framework.
Dear participants,
Climate change is a global issue, and its impacts transcend borders. Climate-induced migration can contribute to conflicts and insecurity, it can strain the economic and social fabric of both sending and receiving areas. International cooperation and solidarity are critical to protecting the planet.
CICA is committed to continuing its cooperation with international partners to make a meaningful difference in the lives of those affected by climate-induced human mobility.
I thank you.
28 November 2023
