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Mr Chairman,
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
I am glad to have the opportunity to address the participants of this thematic session and look forward to an interesting and fruitful discussion.
A year ago, by the decision of the heads of state of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, I was appointed Secretary General of this regional organization, which today unites 28 states and covers over 90% of the territory of the largest and most populated continent of the planet.
CICA brings together countries that are members of other regional associations, such as the CSTO, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the League of Arab States, the Organization of Turkic States, ASEAN, NATO and others. This creates conditions for broad networking in the Asian space. To date, CICA has established cooperation and partnerships with eleven international organizations. Nine states have observer status in CICA, and a number of them are located outside the CICA region, including Belarus.
CICA is a flexible structure based on such fundamental principles as inclusiveness, strict consensus and voluntary participation.
Faithful adherence to these principles makes it possible to build and continue a dialogue even in cases when it becomes difficult to do so in other multilateral formats, involve in this dialogue participants who are willing to communicate solely within the CICA framework.
The CICA countries sometimes have very different views on certain issues on the international agenda. However, strict adherence to these principles helps them to effectively interact and develop solutions, focusing on what unites rather than divides them. This is the great value and unique feature of CICA that sets it apart from other organizations operating in the region.
Therefore, it is important to consider not only security issues, but also to look at the potential of CICA as a multifaceted association, whose portfolio includes various dimensions of interaction.
The basis for cooperation in CICA, along with basic, statutory documents such as the 1999 Declaration on the Principles and the 2002 Almaty Act, is the Catalogue of Confidence Building Measures, an updated version of which was adopted by the Member States at the Ministerial Meeting in the Kazakh capital in 2021.
This is a document, unique in the world history of diplomacy, in which the Member States agreed on joint approaches to interaction in order to build confidence based on the principle “proceed from the simple to the complex” – first confidence, then full cooperation that leads to greater mutual security, which, in turn, is the prerequisite for sustainable development.
Our Catalogue consists of five broad dimensions of interaction: military-political, new challenges and threats, economic, environmental, and human. At the same time, today about 60% of the total cooperation activity in CICA is focused on economic issues, which are closely related to environmental issues, overcoming the effects of climate change, social development and humanitarian cooperation.
At the same time, the “traditional” security area within the framework of the forum is also being actively strengthened.
The Sixth CICA Summit held in Astana on 12-13 October 2022 adopted two very important documents. These are the CICA Plan of Action on the Implementation of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and the CICA Leaders’ Statement on Cooperation in the Field of Security of and in the Use of Information and Communication Technologies.
The CICA Action Plan, developed on the basis of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy of 2006, creates a framework for cooperation to address the scourge of terrorism through effective and concerted action in specific areas of cooperation in accordance with the four “pillars” of the UNGCTS.
The CICA Catalogue of Confidence Building Measures updated in 2021 includes a new priority area called “Security of and in the Use of Information and Communication Technologies.” The Leaders’ Statement notes the increased role of ICTs in all areas of human life and the risks of misuse of ICT developments both for criminal and terrorist purposes, as well as in maintaining security, stability and prosperity in the region and the world. It underscores the willingness of the CICA countries to converge approaches to ensuring ICT security, develop cooperation in this area based on universally recognized principles of international law, primarily the UN Charter. The Statement gives political impetus to practical cooperation among CICA states in this new priority area of confidence building measures.
CICA regularly holds seminars and trainings under the military-political dimension, on ICT security, countering terrorism and extremism, countering drug trafficking, various forms of cross-border crime and human trafficking. The countries exchange best practices in these areas on a voluntary basis, which contributes significantly to strengthening national and regional security.
CICA is now entering a new phase in its development. Last year, the Astana Summit adopted the decision to transform the Conference into a full-fledged international organization. Last month, the CICA foreign ministers endorsed the Road Map for Transformation at their informal meeting in New York. We are now at an early stage of this journey and believe that taking interaction to a higher level will make CICA much more effective. This means that mutually reinforced security will contribute to greater connectivity and cooperation in the vast Asian region.
However, we can safely say that CICA has already proved itself as a full-fledged international organization in its thirty-year history.
Over these decades, CICA has gained the status, role, structure, functions, modi operandi and other features of a full-fledged international organization: founding documents outlining common goals and basic principles of relations among the Member States; structure of governing bodies; executive body – the Secretariat; permanent advisory bodies and cooperation mechanisms – the Business Council, Youth Council, Think Tank Forum (TTF), Council of Eminent Persons, CICA Fund; legal capacity – the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities; financial and human resource management mechanisms.
On behalf of the CICA Summit held in Astana in 2023, the Kazakh Chairmanship and the Secretariat together with the Member States developed the draft Road Map for CICA Transformation containing eight specific areas of forthcoming reforms. The Road Map was endorsed by the informal ministerial meeting in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly's High-level week on 21 September this year.
In the process of transformation, the Member States will discuss the development of the CICA Charter; improving the implementation of confidence building measures and exploring future priority areas for cooperation, the international status of the Secretariat personnel, updating the Rules of Procedure and the Guidelines for External Relations, the role and functions of the Secretary General and the Secretariat, budget reform and human resources management reform, including further internationalization of the Secretariat.
Any decisions by the Member States in these areas will certainly contribute to improving the quality of cooperation within CICA, institutionally strengthening our organization, enhancing Asia's global role and, ultimately, expanding cooperation in Eurasia.
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen,
The experience of interaction within CICA convincingly demonstrates that the security of each individual country or group of countries cannot be effectively built without creating confidence building measures and establishing mutually beneficial cooperation with the countries of its geopolitical environment. Only through joint efforts and on the basis of common interest can we build a system of regional, pan-Asian and Eurasian security as a prerequisite for sustainable development.
In closing, I would like to wish you a successful session and I am ready to answer your questions.
Thank you for your attention.
Minsk, 26-27 October 2023
