ASTANA – The Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) is in the midst of the process of transforming from an intergovernmental forum to a full-fledged international organization. The draft roadmap outlining practical steps towards this goal was at the focus of an April 19 meeting of the CICA Senior Officials Committee, reported the Kazakh Foreign Ministry.
CICA meeting on April 19 in Astana. Photo credit: gov.kz.
The roadmap laying out the steps for the CICA transformation was drafted by Kazakhstan’s chairmanship and the CICA Secretariat as per the Astana statement on the CICA transformation adopted at the sixth summit in October last year.
Kazakh Deputy Foreign Minister and the committee’s chairman Kanat Tumysh stressed that the roadmap is expected to strengthen the CICA organizational structure.
The meeting participants also explored the ways to implement the CICA Catalog of Confidence Building Measures to enhance cooperation, creating and strengthening an atmosphere of peace, confidence, and friendship on the Asian continent.
CICA Secretary General Kairat Sarybay spoke about the confidence-building measures in the New Challenges and Threats Dimension, considering priority areas such as combating terrorism, security, using information and communication technologies (ICTs), combating illicit drugs, epidemiological safety, public health, and pharmaceuticals.
During the meeting, the committee also approved the annual action plan of the CICA Think Tank Forum to facilitate interaction and cooperation among the member states’ research institutes and think tanks.
The meeting also endorsed the concept paper on sustainable development, prepared in July 2022 by Thailand, serving as a coordinator in this priority area under the CICA Environmental Dimension.
