Kuala Lumpur, 19–23 January 2026 — During his working visit to Malaysia, the Secretary General of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), Ambassador Kairat Sarybay, engaged in a series of high-level consultations with Malaysian government officials, parliamentary leaders and leading strategic think tanks, reaffirming a shared commitment to strengthening multilateral dialogue, inter-parliamentary engagement and Track 2 cooperation in support of peace, stability and sustainable development in Asia.
In his meeting with H.E. YB Dato Lukanisman bin Awang Sauni, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia, the Secretary General highlighted the convergence between Malaysia’s foreign policy objectives and CICA’s goals and principles, with particular emphasis on the centrality of dialogue and mediation as effective mechanisms for fostering stability, trust and peaceful cooperation across Asia. He provided a briefing on the priorities of the Azerbaijani Chairmanship of CICA for 2024–2026, as well as on the ongoing transformation of CICA as it continues to strengthen its institutional capacity and role within the evolving regional architecture. Recalling CICA’s evolution as an inclusive, member-driven intergovernmental forum operating on the principles of voluntariness and consensus, the Secretary General noted that several ASEAN countries are already members of CICA and underscored the added value that full-fledged membership could bring, enabling both CICA and Malaysia to benefit from closer interaction across the organization’s governing, working and advisory frameworks. 
As a further component of his working visit, the Secretary General pursued parliamentary engagement, meeting with Nur Jazlan Mohamed, Deputy President of the Senate of Malaysia, and members of the parliamentary leadership, including Wong Chen, Chairman of the International Relations and Trade Committee of the House of Representatives. The exchange underscored the role of parliamentary diplomacy and democratic governance in advancing CICA’s objectives, with particular attention to the contribution of small and medium-sized enterprises to inclusive economic development and social resilience, alongside the meaningful participation of youth and women in public life. In this context, the Secretary General outlined the work of the CICA Youth Council and the recently established Women Council as platforms to promote civic engagement and prepare future generations for the challenges of rapid technological change, including the growing impact of artificial intelligence and social media. The discussions also touched on CICA initiatives related to volunteerism, countering youth radicalization and confidence building measures to combat illicit drugs, noted as increasingly relevant for CICA Member States and the ASEAN region amid heightened uncertainty.
The Secretary General further engaged with leading Malaysian policy research institutions, meeting with Dr Mohd Faiz Abdullah, Chairman of the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia and Adviser to the Prime Minister, and Iqbal Rawther, Deputy Chairman of the Kuala Lumpur Strategic Institute and President of the Global Muslim Business Forum. The discussions focused on the role of think tanks in Track 2 diplomacy, policy innovation and multivectoral cooperation, as well as on regional stability, South–South cooperation and the role of middle powers in reinforcing multilateralism. The interlocutors highlighted the potential for strengthened cooperation between Southeast Asia and Central Asia through CICA as a dialogue-based multilateral platform amid growing geopolitical uncertainty.
These engagements reflect CICA’s ongoing efforts to broaden and deepen its partnerships in Southeast Asia, and to reinforce its role as a forum for trust-building, inclusive cooperation and multilateral engagement across governmental, parliamentary and expert communities.
