CICA ministerial meeting to discuss challenges to peace and stability in Asia

BEIJING, April 28. /TASS/. Foreign ministers from member countries of The Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) will discuss security problems, anti-terrorism efforts and other pressing international topics at the fifth meeting of CICA foreign ministers. Russia will be represented by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. It is expected that China’s President Xi Jinping will deliver a speech at the opening ceremony. The CICA foreign ministers are expected to discuss a wide range of issues of the international agenda. The Russian foreign ministry said earlier that participants in the meeting will exchange views on such topical issues as ensuring regional security, rebuffing the growing threat of international terrorism and other challenges to peace and stability in Asia. Other topics will include ways of building dialogue and interaction between the member states to create favorable conditions for sustainable development in the region. The discussions will be crowned by a joint declaration. According to the organizers, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi will highlight the results of the meeting at a news conference at the end of the day. History of the forum The Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) is an inter-governmental forum for enhancing cooperation towards promoting peace, security and stability in Asia. The idea of convening the CICA was first proposed by Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev in October 1992, at the 47th Session of the United Nations General Assembly. The two founding documents of CICA are the Declaration on the Principles Guiding Relations among the CICA Member States adopted at the First Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs held in Almaty on September 14, 1999 and the Almaty Act, the charter of the CICA, adopted at the First Summit Meeting held in Almaty on June 4, 2002. The highest decision making organ of CICA is the Meeting of the CICA Heads of State and Government convened every four years in order to conduct consultations, review the progress of, and set priorities for CICA activities. Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs are held every two years. Ministerial Meetings are the central forum for consultations and examination of all issues related to CICA activities. The Committee of Senior Officials meets as often as necessary, but not less than at least once a year to follow-up on previous CICA decisions, carry out consultations on the current CICA issues, oversee the work of Special Working Groups and coordinate the work of other meetings. Special Working Group studies specific issues, carries out the tasks mandated to it and submits reports to the Committee of Senior Officials. The CICA Secretariat, the administrative body of CICA is headquartered in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The Secretariat is comprised of Executive Director nominated by the Chairing country and Deputy Executive Director and Professional Personnel seconded by the Member States. China is chairing in CICA in 2014-2016. Member states The CICA member states are currently 26 countries, namely Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Russia, South Korea, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam, the United Arab Emirates, and Uzbekistan. Belarus, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Ukraine, the United States, the United Nations, the Arab League, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic-Speaking Countries enjoy observer status. Read more