Astana, 17 September 2026 – The Secretariat of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) hosted a meeting with representatives of the key stakeholders to present CICA Fund at the CICA Headquarters in Astana.
Opening the event, CICA Secretary General Ambassador Kairat Sarybay highlighted that the CICA Fund, established at the Sixth CICA Summit in October 2022, serves as a dedicated mechanism to translate political commitments into practical cooperation. He emphasized the CICA Fund's core role as a strategic partnership instrument designed to advance confidence building measures, capacity-building initiatives, humanitarian assistance and development-oriented projects across the region.
During the main presentation, CICA Economic Dimension Officer Mr. Abhishek Katiyar detailed the Fund’s operational framework, guided by the core principles of transparency, voluntariness, consensus and accountability to Member States. The briefing covered project identification procedures, funding sources and the Fund’s practical accomplishments. Translating its mandate into action, CICA Fund co-financed two initiatives – supplying high-quality wheat seeds to farmers in Afghanistan in March 2025 and advancing youth-driven climate action in Bangladesh in April 2026.
Bringing together representatives from Member States, observer organizations and leading development agencies – KazAID, MASHAV, IOFS and UNDP – the event fostered a forward-looking dialogue. During the interactive discussion, stakeholders expressed strong readiness to build effective partnerships within the CICA Fund framework.
Ambassador Nurgali Arystanov, Chairman of the Board of KazAID, reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to partnering with CICA and offered KazAID's operational infrastructure to act as an implementing partner for projects approved under the Fund. Additionally, Ms. Olga Slov, representing Israel's Agency for International Development Cooperation (MASHAV), welcomed the CICA Fund as practical tool for strengthening trust and shared MASHAV's openness to exploring joint projects in the area of agriculture and water management. These areas of focus align closely with the broader goals highlighted by Ambassador Berik Aryn, Director General of the Islamic Organization for Food Security (IOFS), who underscored the importance of joint initiatives that contribute to regional food security, sustainable development and enhanced resilience to global challenges.
