Distinguished colleagues,
Your Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is a great honor to address the very first Fergana Peace Forum. Allow me to extend warm appreciation to the organizers for bringing together the countries and communities of the Fergana Valley under a single vision — to make this unique region a symbol of peace, stability, and shared prosperity.
The very idea of this Forum — to transform dialogue into trust and trust into cooperation — embodies the founding spirit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA).
For more than three decades, CICA has worked to build an Asia defined not by divisions, but by dialogue, mutual confidence and development. Our guiding belief remains unchanged: security and prosperity in Asia can only be achieved through confidence and cooperation.
The Fergana Valley is one of the most dynamic regions of our continent — a land where diverse peoples, cultures, and traditions have coexisted for centuries. It stands at the crossroads of Central Asia’s history and destiny, embodying both its complexity and its promise.
The challenges of this region — border management, resource sharing, and community interaction — are not unique to Fergana; they reflect broader issues that many Asian subregions face.
By addressing them through cooperation, the Fergana Valley can become not only a source of regional stability, but also a model of peaceful coexistence that inspires the entire CICA family.
In this regard, I wish to commend the historic Khujand Summit, which brought together the leaders of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan earlier this year – all countries also being the CICA Member States since its inception.
The Khujand agreements paved the way for a new chapter of peace and partnership in the Fergana Valley and demonstrated that even the most complex issues — such as borders, resources, and regional trust — can be resolved through dialogue, mutual respect, and political will.
Amid these complex and often interlinked challenges to peace and prosperity, CICA offers a unique toolkit to solve these problems collectively.
The two foundational documents of CICA – the Declaration of Principles of 1999 and the Almaty Act of 2002 – emphasize that peace, security, and stability should be pursued through cooperation, dialogue, and confidence building measures among Member States.
CICA today is the only pan-Asian forum providing its Member States with a platform for honest dialogue and decision-making based on consensus and inclusiveness. With its largest geographical reach, broad agenda and diverse toolkit, CICA is fully capable to consolidate the collective wisdom of Asian nations in the interests of peace, cooperation and development.
While our Member States come from various backgrounds, at least one thing unites them: they work together on a truly equal footing, regardless of their size. There is no pressure of the strong states on the weaker ones.
Over more than three decades of its evolution, CICA has established a number of advisory bodies, such as Business Council, Youth Council, Think Tank Forum, the Partnership Network of Leading Universities, and recently CICA Finance Summit and Women Council, as well as a special mechanism - the CICA Fund.
Dear colleagues, ladies and gentlemen!
As a recognized advocate of multilateralism and an experienced actor in international diplomacy, Azerbaijan assumed CICA Chairmanship in December 2024, as it was handed over from Kazakhstan – CICA’s initiator state and host country.
The Chairmanship of Azerbaijan revolves around the topic of “Stronger CICA, Connectivity, Digitalization, and Sustainable Growth in Asia” through prioritizing the advancement of CICA’s transformation into a full-fledged international organization, effective implementation of confidence-building measures and increasing synergy and interaction with other international and regional platforms.
While promoting innovative approaches, Azerbaijani priorities build up on the legacy of previous Chairmanships and the accumulated achievements of CICA so far. This shows the consistency and continuity in our organization.
Enhancing cross-sectoral interactions is one of the core objectives set by Azerbaijan. Therefore, the Chairmanship’s priorities span several cooperation areas, from youth and academic engagement to enhancing economic dimension, paying due attention to transport, digitalization, climate, agriculture, cultural heritage preservation, cultural exchanges, and cyber-security issues.
Ladies and gentlemen!
The Fergana Valley has always been more than a place on the map — it is a meeting point of civilizations and a mirror of Asia’s diversity. Today, through this Forum and the uniting spirit of the Silk Way, we affirm that future of Central Asia will not be written by division, but by cooperation.
Looking ahead, I am confident that the transformation path our Member States have chosen together will ensure the unique niche of a renewed CICA in the global security architecture amid growing multipolarity and current geopolitical turbulences. The upgraded CICA is poised to help its Member States to build confidence, establish full-fledged cooperation on an equal footing and collectively pursue common interests. This should make Asia more stable and prosperous, ultimately strengthening global peace and security.
I thank you and look forward to fruitful discussions.
