The sixth meeting of the 27 heads of states and governments of the member states of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) successfully concluded on 13 October 2022 in Astana (Kazakhstan). Yet again, it is an endorsement of Kazakhstan’s potential and capacity to become a centre of regional transformation, peace and integrity. In recent years, Kazakhstan has hosted several events of regional and global significance. Being surrounded by all the Central Asian Republics and its outreach to Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, and to the West, Kazakhstan has the potential to become the junction of trade and manufacturing as well.
The country has reformed its foreign investment policy recently. Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev gave a very vibrant national vision last month in his address to its nation. It is backed by a strong framework of foreign policy, regional integration, and foreign investments in seven sectors including manufacturing of all sorts of goods, construction, pharmaceutical development and tourism. Under the leadership of the new president, efforts for regional collaboration and transformation have been increased. The 6th meeting of the CICA heads of states and government, and the similar meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization are significant successes just in a row lately.
The essence of the 7-point CICA’s Astana Declaration is the “launch of the structured, inclusive and transparent negotiations process of gradual, incremental and consensus-based transformation of CICA into a full-fledged regional international organization”. Certainly, it would decide the future discourse of the cooperation of the member states that is likely to impact the continent and the global map.
The process of transforming CICA is aimed at pursuing the major goals including to define the overarching areas of the future cooperation and strengthening the organizational and institutional base of interaction among CICA member states.
The Astana Declaration also envisions the CICA as contributing to dynamic, equitable, comprehensive and balanced economic growth, connectivity, social and cultural development of its member states. The participating heads of the states and governments have shown their firm commitment to strengthen their collective work within the CICA in order to seek joint solutions for the current common challenges. They believe to firmly work towards a secure and prosperous region and to pursue peaceful settlement of disputes in accordance with the UN Charter.
The CICA organization will interact and cooperate in areas of interest of all member states with other states, organizations and fora sharing the same goals and principles for the purpose of strengthening results-oriented and consensus-based multilateral cooperation in the region.
The first step the Astana meeting took was the transformation process of the CICA. The participants decide that the meeting of heads of states and governments (The Summit) and the meeting of ministers of foreign affairs (Ministerial Meeting) shall henceforth be referred to, respectively, as the Council of Heads of State or Government (Summit) and the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs (Ministerial Council). The Executive Director of the CICA Secretariat shall henceforth be referred to as Secretary General. The CICA Secretariat will submit to the Member States, through the Chairmanship, proposals for amendments to the relevant CICA documents for approval by the respective governing bodies.
It was decided that the CICA member states will determine, when and as appropriate, the details of the transformation process, including criteria for membership. With a view to taking a meaningful practical step towards it, the CICA chair will make proposals in the 2023 meeting with the assistance of the Secretary General and in close consultation with member states – a road map of necessary measures in the transformation process for consideration by the member states.
Now, the CICA has turned 30. Its member states have designed its transformation process that would be completed in just months. Certainly, it would be great to see CICA strengthening and flourishing for regional cooperation and integrity. Perhaps, we need now the most strong, comprehensive, inclusive and dynamic regional forums when the UN system has been hijacked by the veto power states. The UN General Assembly is run by their vested interests. World peace has been ruined by some globally influential people for decades. Many countries have been attacked on the built-up narratives, not on factual.
World is facing the impact of a changed climate, and the actual culprits are not contributing what they nodded at the Paris COP in 2015. The developing countries and the least developed states are paying the bill of the devastation the US and the West’s industrialization has caused, and adding to the climate vulnerability and woes. But, the lust to grab land and natural resources seems not ending. The UN statements, declarations, resolutions, treaties and conventions for peace, sustainable development, climate justice and regional and bilateral conflict management are dusting in the shelves. So, it is essential to have strong regional cooperation forums to combat the vested interest of global powers. A strong CICA would be a meaningful addition to such forums.
