Kazakhstan has concluded its chairmanship of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia. We spoke with CICA Secretary General Ambassador Kairat Sarybay about the achievements made over the past four-year period.
- The process of transforming CICA into a full-fledged international organization was launched at the Sixth Summit in Astana in 2022 and garnered significant support. What progress has been made and why is this transformation necessary?
- First and foremost, I would like to highlight that the transformation of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia into a full-fledged international regional organization is a natural process driven by the evolution of this institution. That is, as President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev emphasized at the Astana Summit, “We are not creating a new organization, but are moving to a new stage of institutional development”.
The Conference was convened more than 30 years ago and has since established itself as an important and valuable multilateral platform. “The CICA family” is consistently growing; during Kazakhstan's four-year chairmanship alone, the number of Member States increased to 28, with Kuwait joining in 2022 and two observer states –Turkmenistan in 2021 and Saudi Arabia in 2023. Morocco's application for observer status is under consideration. All of this shows that the institution is relevant and that CICA's activities align with the interests of its Member States. However, this also brings a pressing demand to make the organization more efficient.
We say that the “time of Asia” has come, and it is true – the countries of the region are global leaders in political, economic, cultural, technological and educational areas. It is the most populous and fastest-growing continent. Given that perspective, a platform that can elevate cooperation among the countries of the continent and strengthen their ties and interactions is more in demand than ever. This is, without exaggeration, a task of global importance, as the course of events in Asia will affect the entire world. If Asia promotes a constructive agenda of political interaction and demonstrates successes in socio-economic development, it will have a positive impact on the global situation as a whole.
Unfortunately, Asia is currently facing major problems and unresolved conflicts. There is a growing demand for an atmosphere of dialogue, particularly due to the serious geopolitical turbulence. Building trust, cooperation and security has been a key objective of CICA since its early days. New realities dictate the need to transform the Conference into a more efficient institution.
In 2023, the CICA foreign ministers approved the Road Map for CICA Transformation and we are currently working within its framework.
First is institutional development. As early as the Astana Summit, an important impetus for this process was set: the establishment of the Council of Heads of State or Government and the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs. At the proposal of Kazakhstan, the position of Executive Director of the Secretariat was transformed into that of Secretary General. This already indicates an increase in the status and institutionalization of CICA's activities.
Second is strengthening the legal framework. The structural discussion of the CICA Charter and Rules of Procedure has been initiated, which will provide the basis for a future full-fledged organization. A protocol to the Host Country Agreement was signed, which is important for enhancing the international profile of the Secretariat. The Member States also approved new modalities for implementing confidence building measures, which enable our countries to develop interaction more effectively based on a clear methodology.
A critical issue is also improving the Secretariat’s effectiveness and strengthening its role as the executive body of CICA. Today, the Secretariat not only handles technical issues but also provides analytical and expert assistance to the Member States.
However, in its current operational format, the Secretariat's capacity is limited. First of all, I am referring to the need to review the HR policy, as we require more professionals to support the ever-increasing workload and must move towards mandatory contributions from the Member States to finance the Secretariat's activities. This directly affects our performance and, consequently, the performance of CICA.
- What would you consider the most significant achievements of Kazakhstan in the institutional strengthening of CICA during its chairmanship from 2020 to 2024?
- I would like to note that the four-year period of Kazakhstan's chairmanship has clearly demonstrated the continuity and consistency of CICA's activities. All initiatives by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and the Kazakh Chairmanship, in a broader sense, logically continued the evolutionary development of the Conference. Indeed, important steps have been taken over the years to strengthen CICA institutionally. In particular, the CICA Fund and the Council of Eminent Persons have been established and the Think Tank Forum has been transformed into a permanent advisory body.
However, it is not only about the creation of new institutions; the existing ones have also become more active.
For instance, considerable impetus was given to the work of the Business Council, whose agenda was substantially updated, increasing its practical significance for CICA Member States. In 2020, it was through this forum that the development of digital platforms was discussed, focusing on how to use their capabilities to support small and medium enterprises during the pandemic, with countries sharing experiences, analyzing best practices and outlining joint projects. Overall, the Business Council was strengthened as a platform for dialogue between governments and the business community to enhance international business ties.
Furthermore, Asia is a very “young” continent in terms of population, so it makes sense that youth issues are a priority on the agenda of CICA Member States. This was also of great relevance to the Kazakh Chairmanship.
During this period, the work of the Youth Council was intensified, addressing crucial issues such as deradicalization, tackling social problems, strengthening youth engagement in public and political life, enhancing humanitarian contacts and developing human capital, among others. In this context, Kazakhstan and President Tokayev made a meaningful contribution by hosting the first CICA Rally of Volunteers in Astana, an event that resulted in volunteerism being added to the Conference's Catalogue of Confidence Building Measures.
In addition, the institutional strengthening of youth-level contacts was supported by the initiative to establish the Partnership Network of Leading Universities of CICA Member States. It will be a major academic exchange programme for young people, scholars and faculty members, which will, among other things, play a key role in reinforcing cultural and intellectual understanding between our states and peoples.
The Kazakhstan Chairmanship also prioritizes the climate agenda. As part of Kazakhstan's chairmanship of CICA, President Kasym-Jomart Tokayev set an ambitious goal of holding a ministerial meeting on environmental issues to establish permanent councils and platforms in the future. At this conference, CICA Member States demonstrated a shared vision and understanding of the need to address these issues. I am confident that the Azerbaijani Chairmanship will carry on this work.
On the economic front, significant progress has been made to increase connectivity. The pandemic and global geopolitical crises have exposed the vulnerabilities in the existing transport and transit systems, as well as in logistics chains. Clearly, there is a need to make Asia more interconnected, as this will benefit not only the countries of the continent but also the world. Therefore, the proposal to establish a Council on Sustainable Connectivity within CICA is of great importance. The second aspect is financial connectivity and financial cooperation. I would also like to remind you that China, during its chairmanship (before Kazakhstan), established the tradition of holding CICA financial summits and this platform can also be institutionalized.
I would like to point out that creating new institutions within CICA is not about artificially growing “tentacles”, but rather a natural process. Decisions regarding the creation of new platforms and councils were based on the actual needs of the Member States. Kazakhstan adopted a pragmatic approach to institutional development and strengthening of the Conference – focused solely on the cause, nothing extra.
- CICA is not only growing institutionally but is also placing great emphasis on expanding its external relations. What are the goals and priorities of this process?
- Yes, indeed, from the very beginning, a key idea of CICA was its openness to all countries, continents, international and regional organizations. This is not an exclusive club where Asian countries gather and solve their own issues. We strive to broaden relations with all constructive players as much as possible.
I have already noted that the “CICA family” comprises not only the Member States but also numerous dialogue partners, including various entities beyond individual countries. We have a lot of international partner organizations and are committed to enhancing our cooperation with them.
First, of course, it is the United Nations. We have already established close relations with many UN institutions in a variety of areas – the socio-economic sector, the fight against new challenges and threats, including counter-terrorism, the fight against drug trafficking and organized crime, and migration management.
We also actively cooperate with such organizations as the SCO, the Economic Cooperation Organization, TurkPA, the Eurasian Economic Union and the League of Arab States. Efforts are currently underway to establish a partnership with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Why do we need this? First and foremost, the expansion of international relations positively impacts the visibility of CICA and helps us to enhance the effectiveness of our work in specific areas.
CICA has a wide range of interests, but it has no intention of constantly creating new bodies and superstructures for various narrow areas of activity – this is counterproductive. There are international organizations that have been working effectively in various fields for a long time and it is better to establish cooperation with them to jointly resolve common issues. Therefore, openness to new partnerships remains a cornerstone of our organization.
The idea is that we need to develop a CICA framework that covers all the key needs of our Member States while avoiding duplication of functions performed by other specialized organizations and agencies. We need to develop our optimal agenda, occupy our unique niche within the entire broader security architecture – global and continental – to be truly relevant and effective.
- One of the main, so to speak, operational documents of CICA is the Catalogue of Confidence Building Measures, which has been significantly expanded over the past four years. Could you please share what’s new in it?
- Just as CICA can be regarded as a unique structure of its kind, the Catalogue of Confidence Building Measures stands as a unique document in the history of global diplomacy. For the first time, the states of the vast continent have agreed on specific areas of interaction in order to strengthen the atmosphere of trust and cooperation. At the same time, the Catalogue is a “living” and flexible document, because, in addition to a number of basic traditional directions, new confidence building measures are regularly incorporated into it based on practical experience and current realities.
For example, the COVID-19 pandemic has fully demonstrated the importance of joint efforts to ensure epidemiological safety and the development of pharmacology, and in 2021 they were included in the Catalogue of Confidence Building Measures as promising areas of cooperation.
After that, the Kazakh Chairmanship had an idea: why not ask other Member States to suggest new confidence building measures? Extensive joint efforts led to a significant update of the Catalogue.
For example, Russia and China have jointly proposed such a confidence building measure as security in the information and communication area. Uzbekistan has enriched the human dimension of the Catalogue with a focus on protecting the rights of women and girls, a greater emphasis on youth policy and clearer provisions on democracy and human rights issues. The concept of “connectivity” appeared in the economic dimension, trade and investment were singled out as a separate confidence building measure. The Catalogue’s cluster of new challenges and threats also places a separate emphasis on the fight against terrorism. The most recent update is the inclusion of volunteerism in the Catalogue of Confidence Building Measures, as I have already mentioned.
There are currently 19 priority areas in the Catalogue – these are large areas of cooperation and it is necessary to identify key points, conceptual approaches, specific projects, coordinate work and ensure the consistency of that work for each area.
It is important for us not only to have a list of areas of interaction, but also a common understanding of specific actions and an implementation algorithm.
I am glad to note that over the years a significant breakthrough has been made in the modalities of implementation of confidence building measures – a comprehensive document has been adopted, which sets out the relevant rules and procedures agreed upon by all Member States. This is a very strong achievement and a big step towards further institutionalization of CICA.
- In December 2024, the CICA Chairmanship transitioned from Kazakhstan to Azerbaijan. What goals and objectives does the new Chair set?
- It is encouraging that Azerbaijani priorities are largely based on the existing achievements of CICA, including those that resulted from the Kazakh Chairmanship. This shows that there is consistency and continuity in our organization. Azerbaijan will continue the policy of enhancing CICA’s effectiveness and promoting openness to new international relations.
A key priority highlighted by the Azerbaijani Chairmanship is to adopt the Charter of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia at the 2026 Summit. If this task is completed, we will achieve the strategic goal of establishing CICA as a full-fledged international regional organization.
In principle, I think that the adoption of this document at a future summit is quite possible. The draft Charter has been meticulously developed, taking into account international experience and the unique features of CICA. Everything it contains is designed to improve the effectiveness of the work that we are already doing. I would like to repeat that this is the whole point of the transformation of the Conference – our activities should bring more benefits to our Member States, we should have more opportunities and tools to strengthen the atmosphere of trust, unlock the potential of cooperation, ensure security and sustainable development.
In general, Azerbaijan’s Chairmanship will be grounded in the theme of “Stronger CICA, Connectivity, Digitalization and Sustainable Growth in Asia”. The areas in focus are the completion of the transformation of the Conference, the promotion of sectoral cooperation through the effective implementation of confidence building measures (in particular in the economic dimension), increasing the international visibility and influence of CICA through building synergy and interaction with other international organizations.
In addition, the new Chairmanship supports and continues Kazakhstan’s initiative to develop volunteerism – Azerbaijan intends to hold the second CICA Rally of Volunteers.
- Increasing the visibility of CICA is of great importance. What initiatives and achievements have been made in this area?
- The visibility of any international structure is proof of its relevance and credibility. Therefore, yes, we pay great attention to our positioning, communicating our activities and implementing image building projects.
As I have already mentioned, we strive to develop our international relations and enhance our synergy with the structures of the United Nations system. This is important not only for improving the effectiveness of our work but also for increasing awareness and reinforcing our credibility. We are a fairly large organization with extensive capabilities but relatively young, and when global institutions with a long history cooperate with us, it significantly contributes to our reputation in the international arena. We are well-known, and our activities are becoming more visible. CICA is the voice of Asia, and it should be heard everywhere.
However, the most important thing is for the citizens of our Member States to understand and know what we are doing and why their countries have become members of CICA, so that, I believe, they can take pride in it.
To do this, we must, again, improve the efficiency of our work and increase the “added value” of membership in CICA. We should be associated with a specific benefit. And there are no “small things” here, everything matters when it is done for the greater good. Countries provide millions in humanitarian aid under the auspices of CICA, which undoubtedly helps raise our profile and fosters a positive perception of the organization. The CICA Secretariat is planting an alley in Astana, which is a wonderful local initiative that has earned the gratitude of the citizens.
The work carried out by CICA and all areas of our activities are in high demand and driven by real-world needs, which gives us confidence that the Conference will continue to strengthen and grow.