Statements and Remarks of CICA Secretary General Ambassador Kairat Sarybay

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Remarks by CICA Executive Director Ambassador Kairat Sarybay at the Ninth Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development, 28 March 2022


It is with a great pleasure that I accepted the invitation of H.E. Ms Armida Alisjahbana, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of ESCAP, to attend the Ninth Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development.

It is also a great honour to address today’s panel “Building back better from COVID-19 while advancing the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda in Asia and the Pacific” along with high-ranking politicians and prominent experts and participate in this well-rounded exchange of views.

I wish to highlight the important role the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) is playing in promoting peace, stability and security through enhancing dialogue, cooperation and partnerships among Asian nations, including through implementation of global SDGs amid the current challenges and evolving security architecture.

Thanks to its broad membership and comprehensive mandate, CICA represents a unique convening and uniting power. It provides a multilateral platform where States with rather diverse political, economic and socio-cultural systems and backgrounds meet on an equal footing, exchange views, share experience and best practices, join efforts in mutually beneficial projects and take decisions on the basis of consensus.

Our philosophy expanding common space through joint implementation of confidence building measures in dimensions, including in the area of sustainable development, joint practical activities, carried out on a voluntary basis, are meant to develop their relations in an ascending trajectory: from interaction to better understanding, which in turn builds trust and confidence, facilitates dialogue and strengthens cooperation. This is CICA’s way of contributing to indivisible security in Asia and providing necessary condition for an effective implementation of SDGs.

At the last CICA Ministerial Meeting in Nur-Sultan in October 2021, all 27 CICA Member States have reiterated their commitment to accelerating the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the United Nations and its Sustainable Development Goals based on national policies of each Member State, improving the quality of life of the Member States’ population, sharing the best international practices of development, and promoting stronger, healthier and more sustainable global development.

Furthermore, all CICA Member States recognize the importance of strengthening cooperation in the field of environmental protection, mitigation of and adaptation to climate change, emergency management, sustainable energy transitions, sustainable water management, biodiversity conservation and fostering harmonious common life of humans and nature. All CICA Member States welcome global efforts to address climate change, including to stimulate green investment and financing, reduce all polluting emissions into the atmosphere, support the transformation of carbon-intensive industries through deployment of clean technologies, while taking into account the development policies and priorities of countries. All our Member States recognize the need for more global attention to mobilize means of implementation, especially implementing the commitment of developed countries to provide 100-billion-dollar financial support to developing countries annually.

CICA’s main event of 2022 is the 6th CICA Summit in October in Nur-Sultan. This year CICA will hold 4 Senior Officials Committee meetings, several meetings of its working bodies and expert groups, as well as sessions of CICA advisory bodies – the newly established Council of Eminent Persons, Think-Tank Forum, Business Council and Youth Council, and other specialized fora, such as Financial Summit and Business Forum. This is not counting dozens of of seminars and workshops as part of the main CICA activity to implement confidence building measures.

I wish to stress that CICA has developed and periodically updates a unique document, which serves as a basis for all its practical work- the CICA Catalogue of Confidence Building Measures. Last year, CICA has considerably expanded and updated it, including addition of such new areas as security of and in the use of ICTs, epidemiological safety, empowerment of women and girls, and other areas.

CICA today is on the verge of transformation into a full-fledged international organization for regional security and cooperation in Asia. CICA is already de-facto an orgnaization, having all the necessary attributes: charter, governing bodies, permanent institutions, an executive body, policy implementation tools and operational framework. Six regular meetings of foreign ministers and five CICA Summits have been held within 30 years of CICA history.

The CICA process keeps gaining new momentum. That also corresponds to the growing role of Asia and its driving force in the global affairs. Member States, observers and partners show increasing interest in CICA activities and willing to find suitable paths towards secure and sustainable Asia.

CICA is perfectly placed to meet the need for strengthened connectivity in the Asian continent, including stronger economic, financial, transport and people-to-people links in the CICA region and beyond. Today, connectivity in Asia becomes even more acute in light of the newly emerging gaps and breakdowns in the world economic system, which directly affect all CICA Member States. The development of green and digital economies is a powerful drivers of economic prosperity and progress for all mankind.

CICA has the potential to expand its ties with UN ESCAP and other relevant regional organizations and stakeholders on Sustainable development, as well as other vital spheres of regional cooperation. CICA Secretariat would welcome ESCAP’s expertise which would contribute significantly to further enhancing the CICA process and implementation of relevant confidence building measures.

Overall, CICA provides a unique multilateral platform for pan-Asian dialogue and serves as a very useful addition to Global, Eurasian, Euro-Atlantic, Asia-Pacific or other trans-continental fora and to smaller sub-regional groupings, and at the same time provides a platform for internal Asian dialogue free from direct influence or interference from external actors.

Thank you.

FOR CICA MEMBER STATES

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