Roundtable
“Priorities of Kazakhstan’s Chairmanship in CICA in 2020-2022: Implementation of Confidence Building Measures in Five Dimensions by the CICA Member States”
28 June 2021, 13:00-15:00
Good afternoon Your Excellencies,
Dear Colleagues,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a pleasure to be speaking with you all at today’s roundtable on behalf of the Secretariat of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA).
I would like to thank His Excellency Ambassador Ihab Badawi, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt, and my fellow colleague and friend Ambassador Kairat Lama Sharif of Kazakhstan for bringing us together for this noteworthy event.
The topic of today’s discussion is “Priorities of Kazakhstan’s Chairmanship in CICA in 2020-2022: Implementation of Confidence Building Measures in Five Dimensions by the CICA Member States.”
I am honored to join you all in the wondrous and ancient city of Cairo, which has seen many civilizations flourish over thousands of years, and importantly, continues to be a melting pot of cultures, peoples, and ideas. The Arab Republic of Egypt acts as the unique bridge between Asia and Africa, welcoming cultures and ideas from these mega-regions and beyond. This makes it the ideal location for today’s diverse multinational discussion, as well as a valuable and honored member of CICA.
The initiative to establish CICA was first proposed by the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, at the plenary session of the UN General Assembly in 1992, almost 30 years ago.
Today CICA unites 27 countries from across the Asian mega-region, which of course vary widely in their historical and cultural backgrounds, but crucially share a common goal of peace and cooperation.
It is for this reason that our Forum makes decisions and operates exclusively on the basis of consensus, to build trust and ensure that through dialogue and multilateralism we uphold CICA Member States’ commitment to the UN Charter. This was firmly established in the CICA Charter of 2002, also known as the Almaty Act.
The aim of CICA is to establish an effective platform for multilateral cooperation, preventive diplomacy and peaceful settlement of disputes. We achieve this by expanding the common ground between Member States to create intra-regional interaction. This interaction helps to foster trust, and trust is the most important factor in facilitating cooperation.
CICA provides practical measures and a simple-to-complex approach for Member States to more effectively work towards these goals. This approach is based on dozens of confidence-building measures, which are divided into five dimensions of cooperation: Human, economic, environmental, military-political, and new challenges and threats.
In this regard, the CICA Catalogue of Confidence Building Measures is a unique tool which enables Member States to build trust, cooperation and security through specific practical actions. It represents a dynamic and forward-looking road map for coordinated activities of Member States.
Excellencies, Dear colleagues,
10 years after its previous term, the Republic of Kazakhstan has been elected to the position of CICA Chairman once again. As the founding Member State of CICA, Kazakhstan has set forth a cluster of ambitious and forward-thinking priorities for its Chairmanship.
The heart of these priorities is the transformation of CICA into a full-fledged international organization, which was first proposed by First President Nursultan Nazarbayev in 2012. This decision is founded on a solid foundation of over 30 years of experience and building trust among Member States. CICA already possesses all the essential elements of an international organization – foundational documents, decision-making bodies with regular meetings such as the Summit, Ministerial Meetings, and Senior Officials Committee; the working body of the Special Working Group; an allocated operational budget; and a permanent Secretariat.
The goals of the proposed transformation are twofold – the first is to further enhance the role of Asia on the global stage, as we can see that the mega-region is becoming a new center of world processes thanks to its tremendous economic potential and wide array of peoples and cultures. Transformation will significantly expand the opportunities and tools available to the Member States for practical cooperation and mutual benefit, and this will be reinforced with a strong and stable institutional framework on a bedrock of trust.
Thus, the institutionalization of the CICA platform is a natural next step.
The Chairmanship is also working towards establishing the CICA Council of Eminent Persons. This will be an advisory body consisting of former heads of state, prominent public personas, accomplished and leading figures in their fields, who will provide Member States with valuable advisory outcomes thanks to their decades of experience and leadership. I am honored that First President Nursultan Nazarbayev is fully supportive of this idea.
The CICA Think Tank Forum is another notable initiative on the part of the Chairmanship, which brings together analytical centers and think tanks from across Asia for exchange of expertise and sharing of insights, as well as facilitating joint multilateral research projects.
The Kazakh Chairmanship has also initiated the establishment of the CICA Fund. This will be a dedicated resource for the funding of CICA-backed projects in official development assistance, or for emergency situations.
During the Chairmanship of Kazakhstan, the Member States adopted a new confidence building measure in the field of Epidemiological Safety and Pharmaceuticals, to meet the new challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
With this in mind, Kazakhstan also provided medical humanitarian aid to the Member States Afghanistan, Palestine and Iraq in the spring, which shows the real-world benefits of multilateral cooperation through the CICA platform.
It is safe to say that Kazakhstan as CICA Chairman has set progressive and beneficial targets to further strengthen the existing mechanism of CICA and equip it with significant new tools.
Excellencies,
I am honored to say that the Arab Republic of Egypt has been a valued Member State and supporter of CICA since the initiative began in the early 1990’s. Without a doubt, the representatives of the Arab world greatly enrich the Forum’s agenda and activities – thanks to their support and participation, CICA is able to foster connectivity between the Arab world and other subregions of Asia.
As the bridge between Asia and Africa, Egypt is a crucial part of this inter-regional connectivity, especially in light of the rapidly growing interest in Africa and its rapidly expanding economy. In this regard, I believe President Abdel Fattah as-Sisi has played a leading role in forging multilateral connectivity to address contemporary regional issues in the Middle East and North Africa.
Egypt’s contribution to the CICA process over the years should also be recognized, as it hosted the meetings of the CICA Special Working Group and Senior Officials Committee in beautiful Sharm el-Sheikh in March 2016.
We hope for Egypt’s continued and constructive participation in supporting the CICA process, especially in light of the preparations for the upcoming Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs this fall and for the Sixth CICA Summit in 2022, which will mark CICA’s 30th anniversary.
Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
The 21st century brings tremendous changes to the global order, as Asia embraces its huge economic potential, and diverse array of peoples, cultures, and worldviews to bring their perspectives to the forefront. In its capacity as the largest intergovernmental Forum that unites 27 Member States and over half of the world’s population and GDP, CICA aims to strengthen stability, cooperation, and connectivity in Asia by its approach of multilateralism, consensus, and inclusiveness.
Thanks to the rich agenda of the CICA Chairmanship of Kazakhstan, these goals will move closer to reality, as diverse regions come together towards resolving the issues of our time. It is my hope that CICA will be there for every step of the way.
I am grateful to the Chairmanship of Kazakhstan for its leadership, and I give special thanks to the Arab Republic of Egypt for its continued support of the CICA platform.
I would like to express my gratitude to all CICA Member States, observer states, partner organizations, and observer organizations, and I would like to thank again my fellow speakers and all our guests and participants for joining us this afternoon.
I thank you.
