HH the Amir to Participate in Sixth CICA Summit Tomorrow

Doha, October 12 (QNA) - HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani will lead the State of Qatar's delegation to the sixth summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) to be held in Kazakhstan's capital city of Astana on Oct.13. This summit comes as the 27-member bloc marks its 30th anniversary and prepares for the launch of its gradual transformation process. The participating leaders will discuss the latest developments and agendas of interest to CICA Member States and ways to activate its roles and mechanisms regionally and internationally, particularly with the bloc gaining increasing importance amid the security challenges facing Asia. Among these challenges are regional conflicts, transnational organized crime, terrorism, climate change, continuous sea level rise, water conflicts, food security and epidemics, as well as energy security. This sixth CICA summit, which will witness the adoption of several documents and decisions, is expected to be one of the most important foreign policy events, not only for Kazakhstan but for Asia as well. The State of Qatar - since its accession to the CICA at the fourth summit in Shanghai, the People's Republic of China, in 2014 - has effectively and regularly participated in all the conference activities, and sought to enhance cooperation relations with member states. In this context, HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani participated in the fifth CICA Summit on June 15, 2019, in Dushanbe, the Republic of Tajikistan. On the sidelines of the summit, His Highness met with several leaders of sisterly and friendly countries, including Their Excellencies the presidents of the Republic of Tajikistan, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the People's Republic of China, the Russian Federation, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Republic of Turkey and the Kyrgyz Republic. These fruitful meetings reflected the depth and strength of the State of Qatar's relations with these countries and opened up wider horizons for bolstering and developing them in various fields. They also offered an opportunity to exchange views on various issues and the current regional and international situations. In Oct. 2021, the State of Qatar took part in the sixth CICA Ministerial Meeting in the Kazakh capital, Astana. HE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani chaired the State of Qatar's delegation at the meetings. In the speech of the State of Qatar, His Excellency extended his sincere thanks and appreciation to CICA Conference president, the Republic of Kazakhstan, for hospitality and good organization of this meeting. His Excellency said that the State of Qatar positively appreciated the CICA track since it was established 30 years ago. His Excellency hailed the initiative devised by HE the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev to establish CICA as a forum for dialogue and orchestrating efforts of a large group of Asian countries to contribute to bringing security and stability in Asia, and to establish a network that combats the emerging challenges and threats in the region, which still suffers hotbeds of terrorism and regional conflicts. HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said that multilateral cooperation is the only way to face the challenges of epidemics, climate change and environmental threats in general. Based on this conviction, His Excellency said, the State of Qatar has provided assistance to many countries worldwide to reign in the COVID-19 pandemic eruption, and effectively contributed to international efforts to mobilize resources and energies to face this epidemic and its repercussions. HE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani added that the State of Qatar appreciates the commitment of the Republic of Kazakhstan to building an integrated collective security system under the auspices of the CICA Conference, to be able to exercise international mediation, highlighting that the State of Qatar is a reliable partner in bringing peace in the region. In this respect, His Excellency highlighted the State of Qatar's role as an impartial mediator among parties of various conflicts, most notably the peace agreement hammered out between the US and the Taliban movement in Afghanistan. His Excellency stressed the State of Qatar's readiness to collaborate with other concerned parties to provide support for the Republic of Kazakhstan to successfully implement the priorities of its CICA chairmanship (2020- 2022). The Qatari support will be directed towards areas including preventing the dissemination of the epidemic, and digitizing the economy, education, tourism and regional security, as the key factors to promote confidence measures in Asia and bolster common security and stability. On Sep. 21, the State of Qatar participated in an unofficial meeting of the CICA Foreign Ministers, on the sidelines of the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Delivering the State of Qatar's speech at the meeting, HE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi said that the CICA Conference, which this year marks its 30th anniversary, has proven during this period its importance as a platform for dialogue on political, security and development issues. His Excellency expressed Qatar's support for the Republic of Kazakhstan in its initiative to transform the CICA Conference into an independent international organization for security, cooperation, and development affairs in Asia. The idea of convening CICA was first proposed by HE the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, on Oct. 5, 1992, at the 47th Session of the UN General Assembly. In March, 1993, the CICA formally launched its activities. The body comprises 27 permanent members constituting more than 90 percent of Asia's territories and population, in addition to 13 observer states and international organizations. The CICA is a forum for dialogue and consultation on regional security issues in Asia, and its main objective is to enhance cooperation through multilateral confidence-building measures in order to maintain peace, security and stability in the vast continent. The CICA Member States believe that peace and security in Asia can be achieved through dialogue and cooperation, which are key to an indivisible common security area in Asia, where all its nations and peoples coexist in peace, freedom and prosperity. The CICA Summit of Heads of State and Government is quadrennial, while it is biennial for the ministerial meetings. The country that hosts the CICA Summit is known to hold chairmanship. All CICA Summit decisions are taken unanimously. Before June 2010, Kazakhstan held CICA chairmanship. As of the third summit, Turkey held the chairmanship for two years (2012 - 2014). China held the chairmanship for four consecutive years, from May 2014 to Sep. 2018 when the bloc's chairmanship was handed over to the Tajikistan. Now CICA is chaired by Kazakhstan for the period from 2020 to 2022. (QNA)