CICA: A New Asia in a New World
Tehran, Astana determined to boost CICA
By Reza Abesh Ahmadlou
Staff writer
Asia faces multiple challenges as it presents a diverse picture representing a unique regional framework.
Closer bilateral and regional economic cooperation among the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) members can act as a powerful agent for development of people in the region, as well as for resolution of difficult problems.
Iran and Kazakhstan have been associated with the initiative since its initiation.
As global focus is shifting towards Asia, regional initiatives and institutions are gaining new vitality, which will lead to increased expectations from people in the
region.
CICA Secretary General Kairat Sarybay, on his visit to Tehran on May 30, said that Iran had played a significant role in CICA from the beginning. Talking to Iran Daily, Sarybay added that Iran had been an important part of CICA processes for 30 years, and, with its very constructive engagement, the country contributes a lot to multilateral development.
CICA members cover 90 percent of the area of the Asian Continent and host almost half of the world’s population. Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi’s participation in the sixth summit of CICA, held in Astana in October 2022, and his chance to rub shoulders with Asian leaders allowed Iran to engage in dialogue about solving Asian problems and finding an effective way to promote initiatives for interaction and confidence building at higher levels. The emphasis of the 2022 summit was on sustainable connectivity, Sarybay said, noting that, today, a connected Asia will serve the global good, will serve not only economic development in Asia, but also serve global development, because Asia is the most populous continent and geographically huge.
“In the near future, we will see bold interaction of all member states in environmental protection, for which Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev initiated the conference on the environment.”
As the chairman of CICA, pointing to the priorities of Kazakhstan, the Kazakh official said, “We had a very productive summit in Astana in October 2022. First and foremost, leaders decided to transform CICA into a new level of cooperation. This is not about establishing a new organization; we’re talking about how we can improve the level of interaction and cooperation within CICA by improving some modalities and some legislation.”
Another important decision of the CICA summit was the cooperation of member states in countering terrorism, Sarybay noted, adding that the third very bold and unique decision was that our leaders delivered the statement on cooperation in the security of Information and Communications Technology (ICT).
“Today, digital solutions are an integral part of our daily lives, but we should ensure the security of these ICTs, and that was agreed upon by CICA leaders,” he said.
“Last but not least, we agreed on the establishment of the CICA Fund, which can be a great help in operationalizing the efforts of all member states, in funding the building measures, and in arranging speedy responses to natural disasters in states that are in great need.”
“Member states put forward some new ideas like establishing a partnership network of leading universities,” the official said.
“We are now living in an age of transformation of the global financial system. We have to discuss new ways of financial calculations in order to boost international trade and economic development in the world,” he concluded. CICA is a multinational forum for enhancing cooperation towards promoting peace, security and stability in Asia.
The idea of convening CICA was first proposed by Nursultan Nazarbayev, the first president of Kazakhstan, on October 5, 1992, at the 47th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
It is a forum based on the recognition that there is a close link between peace, security and stability in Asia and the rest of the world.
The member states, while affirming their commitment to the UN Charter, believe that peace and security in Asia can be achieved through dialogue and cooperation, leading to a common indivisible area of security in Asia, where all states co-exist peacefully and their peoples live in peace, freedom and prosperity.