Secretary General took part at the 7th Ministerial Council Meeting of CICA

On 17 December 2024, Secretary General Mehmet Süreyya Er participated in the 7th meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) hosted by Azerbaijan in virtual format. The meeting where the chairmanship of the CICA for 2024-2026 was handed over to Azerbaijan gathered together foreign ministers, state ministers, deputy foreign ministers as well as representatives of observer states and partner international organizations. The meeting focused on enhancing regional cooperation, promoting peace, and advancing sustainable development in Asia. In the course of his opening address, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu highlighted key achievements of Kazakhstan's four-year CICA chairmanship term, including institutional reforms, expanded confidence-building measures, and the establishment of three permanent bodies – the Council of Wise Men, the Forum of Analytical Centers, and the CICA Fund. Addressing the meeting, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov expressed gratitude to all Member States for entrusting Azerbaijan with the chairmanship of the CICA for the 2024–2026 term and for their unanimous support. The Minister highlighted that as multi-polarity rose and multilateralism faced new challenges, Asia had to respond with unity, cooperation, and shared responsibility. Azerbaijan’s chairmanship of CICA will be carried out under the theme “Stronger CICA – Connectivity, Digitalization, and Sustainable Growth in Asia”. He noted that the priorities for Azerbaijan’s term would focus on three core areas: the transformation and institutional development of CICA, the strengthening of sectoral cooperation through the implementation of confidence-building measures, and promoting synergy between CICA and other international and regional organizations. Subsequently, the CICA Secretary General Kairat Sarybay presented a report on the achievements of the Conference under the Chairmanship of Kazakhstan in 2020-2024. During the event, speeches were delivered by ministers addressing key regional issues and cooperation initiatives. The CICA Ministerial Council adopted Commemorative Statement on the 25th Anniversary of the Declaration on the Principles Guiding Relations among the CICA Member States, as well as “Decision of the CICA Ministerial Council on Modalities of Implementation of CICA Confidence Building Measures”, the amended version of “CICA Catalogue of Confidence Building Measures” and “Memorandum of Establishment of the Partnership Network of Leading Universities of the Member States of CICA”. The Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) was established in 1992 as a multi-national forum for enhancing cooperation towards promoting peace, security and stability in Asia. TURKPA was granted an observer status in CICA in 2012.