Dushanbe, Republic of Tajikistan, 12 June 2026
*translation
Your Excellency, distinguished Chair,
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
It is a great honour for me to address this Conference today, commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan, His Excellency Mr. Sirojiddin Muhriddin, for the invitation and the warm welcome. I am convinced that this kind of dialogue deserves to become a good and lasting tradition.
Today, as we mark the 25th anniversary of the SCO, we reflect on the organization’s journey from the Shanghai Five to one of the most influential regional entities of our time. This is a path of institutional maturation, political accountability and growing international profile.
The SCO’s development has clearly demonstrated that even in a complex and sensitive region, it is possible to build a new type of relationship – one based on trust, mutual respect and mutual benefit. And that is precisely why the SCO’s experience today carries significance far beyond its geographical boundaries.
It is equally telling that the SCO and the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia have developed largely in parallel. They share, above all, a commitment to strengthening trust as the foundation of peace, security and sustainable cooperation across the Asian continent.
The idea of establishing CICA was proposed by the First President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev on 5 October 1992 at the 47th session of the United Nations General Assembly. The main objective of this initiative was to create an effective multilateral mechanism for ensuring peace and security in Asia.
The history of the Shanghai Five began with the signing in Shanghai on 26 April 1996 of the Agreement between Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan on Confidence Building in the Military Field in the Border Area.
On 15 June 2001, in Shanghai, with the accession of Uzbekistan, the Shanghai Five was transformed into the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. A year later, at the St. Petersburg Summit, the SCO Charter was signed, laying the institutional foundation of the new organization.
Around the same period, in September 1999, the Declaration on the Principles Guiding Relations among the CICA Member States was adopted in Almaty, and the Almaty Act was signed at the First CICA Summit on 4 June 2002. These two documents laid down the groundwork for the further development of CICA.
The history of the SCO and CICA makes one thing clear: these frameworks emerged for a reason. They were formed in response to a strong demand among Asian states for dialogue, predictability and a collective search for solutions. Today, both entities have reached a stage of maturity where their accumulated experience can be translated into even closer and more effective interaction.
The memberships themselves clearly demonstrate this connection. Currently, nine out of ten SCO Member States are also Member States of CICA, while the Republic of Belarus, which joined the SCO at the 2024 Astana Summit, holds observer status in CICA.
Both CICA and the SCO are undergoing an important phase of renewal. CICA is steadily moving toward becoming a full-fledged international organization, a process that gained momentum at the 2022 Astana Summit. For its part, the SCO is refining its mechanisms in response to rapid geopolitical and geoeconomic changes. This means that both entities are reaching a whole new level – and it is now more important than ever to strengthen their coordination.
CICA and the SCO already have a positive and practical track record of cooperation. It is based on the 2014 Memorandum of Understanding between the Secretariats and the 2017 Protocol on Cooperation between the CICA Secretariat and the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure. I can say with certainty that this interaction has already become a compelling example of how regional mechanisms can reinforce one another not in word, but in deed.
Our approaches converge on key issues of our time – above all in the field of security. By that I mean conflict prevention, strengthening the non-proliferation regime, combating terrorism, separatism and extremism, countering drug trafficking, transnational organized crime and the illicit arms trade. The more complex the international environment becomes, the more evident the need for such a coordinated approach.
Equally significant opportunities exist in the economic sphere: promoting sustainable development, enhancing transport corridors and multimodal routes, advancing digital technologies, strengthening food security, and expanding tourism and humanitarian exchanges. In other words, our agenda extends beyond security in its narrow sense. It is also about the quality of development of our societies, connectivity, knowledge-sharing and the strengthening of human capital.
In this regard, it is important to emphasize a fundamental point: CICA and the SCO do not compete with one another. Rather, they complement each other. This complementarity is their strength. By combining their efforts and comparative advantages, they can achieve tangible results in the interests of security, development and regional connectivity.
Central Asia is, without exaggeration, the heart of the SCO and one of the key pillars of CICA.
A glance at the map is sufficient to appreciate the strategic importance of this region. Central Asia is surrounded by CICA Member States; four of the region’s five countries are CICA members, while Turkmenistan participates as an observer.
Despite its diversity, Central Asia has historically been bound together by strong economic, social and cultural ties.
In recent years, we have witnessed a growing role and agency of Central Asia in regional and global affairs. The countries of the region are increasingly coordinating their approaches, seeking joint responses to common challenges and developing closer formats of cooperation both among themselves and with external partners.
Central Asia is a source of peace and confidence building in Asia. It is a region where states have successfully addressed issues related to borders and water resource management, while actively developing the potential of regional transport connectivity.
In the context of Azerbaijan’s Chairmanship of CICA, cooperation with the Central Asian states acquires particular relevance. The dynamic development of these relations contributes to strengthening links among various regional frameworks and serves as an additional driver for dialogue and practical cooperation within CICA. Azerbaijan’s expanding engagement with the countries of the region, including its participation in the Consultative Meetings of the Heads of State of Central Asia, further promotes regional connectivity and enhances the role of Central Asia in broader pan-Asian processes.
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
We live in a period marked by growing geopolitical and geo-economic tensions, while the number of crises and conflicts continues to rise. Yet it is precisely in such circumstances that one truth becomes particularly evident: a long lasting peace does not emerge on its own. It requires trust, political will and effective multilateral mechanisms.
The current Chairmanship of the Republic of Azerbaijan in CICA places particular emphasis on strengthening partnerships with international and regional organizations, enhancing connectivity and advancing practical multilateral cooperation. I am convinced that multilateral diplomacy – bringing together major powers, middle powers and smaller states alike – will continue to play a vital role in promoting security, peace, stability, sustainable development and connectivity throughout our common space. Asia’s future is indeed built on confidence. The stronger that confidence becomes, the more sustainable our shared future will be.
That is why examples of genuine trust and practical cooperation are especially valuable today. In this context, closer interaction between CICA and the SCO is not merely an institutional matter. It represents a meaningful contribution to the development of a more resilient architecture of peace, security and development across the continent.
In conclusion, I would like once again to express my sincere appreciation for the initiative to convene this conference and to thank the host country, the Republic of Tajikistan, for its excellent organization. I wish all participants a meaningful, engaging and fruitful dialogue.
Thank you.
