DUSHANBE, 10.06.2019. (NIAT Khovar) – One of the significant political events of this year will be the fifth summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), which will be held on June 14-15 in Tajikistan’s capital.

The summit aims to strengthen cooperation, ensure peace, security and stability in Asia includes among its members 27 states that cover approximately  90 percent of the territory and population of Asia, another eight states and five international organizations, including the UN, have observer status.

The initiative to create the CICA was announced by the first president of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev in 1992 at the 47th session of the UN General Assembly. In September 2018, the CICA Foreign Ministers’ meeting was held on the margins of the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly, whereupon the chairmanship of the forum for the 2018-2020 period  passed from China to Tajikistan.  Tajikistan assumed the chairmanship at an important time for Asia,- a vast region, facing new challenges, in which historical destinies of peoples and nations are closely intertwined in the pursuit of strong economic expansion, joint sustainable development and progress.

Asian states are indissolubly linked by the rich diversity of indigenous cultures, common history and the goal of preserving supreme values, and are deeply aware that maintaining peace and achieving prosperity are possible only through the creation of a secure environment. In this context, CICA serves as an important platform for open and broad exchange of views on ways to strengthening practical cooperation toward the set goals.

Proceeding from the declarations of the fourth CICA summit in 2014 and CICA’s fifth ministerial meeting in 2016, Tajikistan is determined to continue its peaceful, fair and inclusive policy. There can be no sustainable development without overall peace and security and no overall peace and security without sustainable development. Promoting overall peace and security through sustainable development is possible by the implementation of UN’s Global Agenda 2030 and the achievement of its relevant Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and targets.

Presently CICA member states face immense challenges to promoting comprehensive peace and security in the region. Terrorist and extremist activities spread across national borders, representing a global security challenge that countries cannot tackle alone, instead requiring  a multi-sectoral, comprehensive and effective cooperation between national, regional and international level actors.

The upcoming summit in Dushanbe is expected to bring the high-level delegations toward an agreement and adoption of an ambitious declaration covering all the issues of cooperation within the CICA. The summit will serve as an effective platform for discussing and resolving the remaining and new problems facing Asia, as well as for promoting initiatives and finding effective mechanisms at a high level.

Given the high-level participation of member countries, as well as friendly and trusting relations between them, Tajikistan expects good results from the summit, which will serve as a guide for successfully fulfilling common obligations within the CICA during the two-year chairmanship of Tajikistan.

Top officials of more than 25 countries are expected to attend the summit.