China: President Rouhani Invited To CICA Summit On May 20-21

Tehran, May 14, IRNA – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has been invited to attend the Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), the Chinese foreign ministry announced on Tuesday. ˈRussian President Vladimir Putin, President Rouhani and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will travel to China next week to attend the Fourth CICA Summit on May 20-21 in Shanghai,ˈ a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday. The spokesperson noted that Russian presidentˈs visit will take place one day, while President Rouhaniˈs visit will last two days. China adopted the mission presidency of the CICA for the period from 2014 to 2016. The CICA is an international forum for strengthening cooperation to ensure peace, security and stability in Asia. The idea of the CICA was first announced by President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev at the 47th UN General Assembly session October 5, 1992. The Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) Summit is held once every four years and CICA foreign ministerial meeting in held once every two years. The CICA member-states include Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cambodia, China, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Palestine, South Korea, Russia, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, the UAE, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. The non-member states include Armenia, Bhutan, Brunei, Cyprus, Georgia, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Syria, Taiwan, East Timor, Turkmenistan and Yemen. The observer member-states are Bangladesh, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Ukraine and the US. The Arab League and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) are also international observer organizations./end