Astana, 5 October 2026 – A festive event dedicated to CICA Day on 5 October was held at the Headquarters of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA). The highlight of the celebration was the unveiling ceremony of the Garabagh Horse sculpture, a gift to the CICA Headquarters from the Azerbaijani Chairmanship, presented at the personal initiative of H.E. President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan.
The Garabagh Horse sculpture was specially designed and created for the new CICA building by the acclaimed sculptor Kamran Asadov. (More information is available on the CICA website: https://www.s-cica.org/ru/index.php?view=page&t=azerbaijan-s-sontribution-to-the-headquarters-in-2026).
The festive event was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, led by Deputy Foreign Minister Arman Issagaliyev, as well as members of the diplomatic corps in Astana.
Speaking at the unveiling ceremony, Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Kazakhstan Alimirzamin Askerov expressed confidence that the Garabagh Horse sculpture, donated to CICA, will serve as a lasting reminder of the friendship among Member States and of the atmosphere of sincere trust in the Asian region, which CICA's activities are aimed at strengthening.
CICA Secretary General Kairat Sarybay, for his part, noted that the artwork has taken its place of honour among the works of art contributed by Member States to the Headquarters since its official inauguration last year. According to the Secretary General, Azerbaijan's gift has organically complemented the Headquarters' collection, which reflects the rich cultural diversity of Asia.
The event took place as preparations are under way for the Seventh CICA Summit, which will be held in Baku on 15 October 2026.
CICA Secretary General Sarybay noted that, over the four years since the Astana CICA Summit in 2022, the Organization has made substantial progress in implementing the Road Map for Transformation. Within this process, about 100 events were held across the five CICA dimensions, the CICA Women Council and the CICA Finance Summit were officially launched, and cooperation has significantly intensified in the areas of the environment and climate agenda, volunteerism, cybersecurity and others.
The CICA Secretary General emphasized that Azerbaijan's two-year Chairmanship in 2024–2026 gave a powerful impetus to the Organization's activities, owing to which CICA is approaching the upcoming Summit in Baku with significant achievements.
