Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I’m honoured to speak at today’s Conference and on behalf of CICA Secretary General Ambassador Kairat Sarybay I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations on the occasion of the 15th Day of TURKPA. As we celebrate this milestone anniversary, I would like to underline the remarkable achievements of TURKPA in developing inter-parliamentary cooperation and dialogue among the TURKPA Member States, which are at the same time the CICA Member States. Both TURKPA and CICA are unique platforms of a regional scale, fulfilling the high mission of developing political dialogue between states, thereby ensuring peace, stability and security in Asia and the Turkic world.
For more than a decade, CICA and TURKPA are enjoying strong and fruitful partnership, which began when TURKPA gained the status of CICA Observer Organization in 2012. Representatives of our organizations ensure regular mutual participation in events and meetings at various levels.
Thanks to high-level participation and active contribution of TURKPA Member States, the Sixth CICA Summit in Astana in October last year launched a structured, inclusive and transparent negotiation process of gradual, incremental and consensus-based transformation of CICA into a full-fledged international regional organization. At an informal meeting of the CICA Ministerial Council in New York on September 21, on the sidelines of the high-level week of the UN General Assembly we formalized this process by endorsing the CICA Road Map on Transformation.
The Presidents of Turkic Member States of CICA – Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Türkiye and Uzbekistan, in their statements at the Sixth Summit called for a broad range of forward-looking actions and proposed innovative initiatives on the most important topics of the current global and regional agenda.
In particular, Kazakhstan, as a CICA Chair intends to hold a CICA Rally of Volunteer Movement Leaders in 2024 in Astana under the auspices of the CICA Youth Council. The experience of TURKPA would undoubtedly be useful in this endeavour. This event will bring together young leaders from Member States to exchange ideas, experiences, and best practices in volunteerism and community engagement. To reaffirm the significance of volunteerism, the CICA Ministerial Council adopted the Ministerial Statement on Promoting Volunteerism for Sustainable Development on 21 September in New York.
In its dedication to education, CICA is working on the establishment of a Partnership Network of the Leading Universities of the CICA Member States. This network will facilitate academic exchanges, joint research projects, and collaborative programs among universities across the region.
CICA Chairmanship and Secretariat are actively working on establishment of the CICA Council on Sustainable Connectivity, also initiated by President Tokayev at Sixth Summit, to develop and strengthen the transit and transport potential and transportation corridors of the CICA Member States. By fostering cooperation and coordination, the Council will pave the way for a more interconnected and prosperous Asia.
In August next year we will organize a CICA Ministerial Conference on Environmental Issues to formulate joint actions to combat the negative consequences caused by climate change and environmental factors and to engage all stakeholders in this process to increase environmental awareness in the region.
Just last week on November 13 we had a meeting of the CICA Business Council and its Business Forum where representatives of business associations and government agencies of the Member States discussed green finance, renewable energy, and food security.
Dear participants,
CICA has proved to be an effective political and diplomatic forum with the most extensive geographical coverage in the Asian region, and its agenda is closely related with the agenda of TURKPA Permanent Commissions where we can explore possible cooperation for the prosperity of Turkic World and Asia.
Thank you for your attention!
21 November 2023, Baku (Azerbaijan)
