Summit on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia

Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) is an international forum aimed at strengthening regional cooperation to ensure peace, security, and stability in Asia.

The idea of creating the organization was expressed in 1992 by the first President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, speaking at the 47th session of the UN General Assembly. The first CICA summit was held in June 2002. The CICA policy is based on the principles of the rule of law, non-interference in the internal affairs of the participating States, and their economic and cultural cooperation. The main goal of the Conference is to expand cooperation between the countries of the region, and peace, security, and stability in Asia.

Today, the CICA includes 27 member states, including Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Vietnam, Egypt, Israel, India, Iraq, Iran, China, Palestine, Russia, Turkey, and South Korea. Another eight countries have an observer status, including the USA, Ukraine, the Philippines, Japan, and Belarus. CICA observers are also five international organizations, including the League of Arab States, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic-speaking Countries, and the United Nations.

CICA summits are held every four years, and the Ministerial conferences are held every two years. The Secretariat of the CICA Conference is located in the capital of Kazakhstan. The Central Asian Republic will preside over the organization for two years, and the next, 6th CICA summit in 2022. Before that, Tajikistan was the chairman State of the CICA.