12 April 2024 — Astana, Kazakhstan — CICA Secretary General Ambassador Kairat Sarybay met with the Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka Ms. Aruni Yasodha Wijewardane at the CICA Headquarters.
The CICA Secretary General informed Secretary Wijewardane about current CICA activities, including key events scheduled for 2024 and the implementation of the Kazakhstan Chairmanship’s priorities outlined by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at the Sixth CICA Summit held in Astana on 12-13 October 2022. The interlocutors also discussed the CICA transformation process, launched by the Summit, in considerable depth.
Ambassador Sarybay emphasized the importance of the recent decision of the CICA Ministerial Council on Azerbaijan’s Chairmanship in 2024-2026, following Kazakhstan, the current Chair since 2020. Secretary Wijewardane was briefed on preparations for the upcoming Seventh Meeting of the CICA Ministerial Council to be hosted by Azerbaijan in the second half of 2024.
Ambassador Sarybay expressed his sincere appreciation for Colombo’s continuous support for the CICA process and thanked the Government of Sri Lanka for hosting his recent visit to Colombo in February 2024, the first-ever visit of a CICA Secretary General since the country became a Member State in 2018.
Ambassador Sarybay briefed Madam Secretary on the history of CICA, its geography and the composition of the CICA Secretariat, as Sri Lanka is looking for ways to further engage in CICA activities.
The Sri Lankan senior diplomat underscored her country’s continuous commitment and active role in ensuring peace and security in Asia and, to that end, its great interest in CICA.
Secretary Wijewardane highlighted the strategic importance of President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s decision to open a resident Diplomatic Mission in Kazakhstan – first one in Central Asia – which is also meant to facilitate Colombo’s interaction with CICA. In this regard, Madam Secretary gave a very high assessment to Kazakhstan’s international standing, with its leading role in promoting many issues on the international agenda, including its proactive engagement in multilateral structures.
Media contact:
Tahir Kazykhan
Public Relations Officer
Email: tahir@s-cica.org
Phone number:+7 (778) 734-85-61
