India expresses confidence CICA would continue to evolve into balanced framework for Asian countries to address challenges
Sep 22, 2023
New York [US], September 22 : India said here on Friday that it is confident that CICA (Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia) would continue to evolve into a balanced, open and inclusive framework for Asian countries to interact in addressing multi-faceted challenges in accordance with the common vision for a more secure and prosperous Asia.
The Indian representative made this remark at the CICA ministerial council informal meeting being held on the sidelines of the 78th UNGA council meeting in New York, said the Ministry of External Affairs in a press release on Friday.
Speaking on the country’s contribution as a founding member of CICA, India said it has been deploying professional diplomats on secondment to the CICA Secretariat for nearly two decades.
The release further added, India organised a virtual workshop on the topic ‘Counter Radicalization’ in February, and another on ‘Misuse of Internet’ in May which saw a wide and active participation among CICA Member States in these initiatives.
India also congratulated the Republic of Kazakhstan for hosting the CICA Ministerial Council meeting this year and extended a greeting to Kazakhstan Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan Murut Nurtleu as the Chairperson of the CICA Ministerial process.
A representative from the Indian side at the meeting said, “The dynamism imparted by the present Chair to the CICA interactions and vision for the transformation of CICA into a full-fledged regional international organization is far-reaching and commendable. As envisaged in the Astana Statement on CICA Transformation, we are pleased that the Road Map for CICA Transformation is being adopted at today’s meeting.”
India added in the statement, “The successful organisation of the 6th CICA Summit last year and the adoption of the Astana Statement on CICA Transformation at the Summit launched CICA’s gradual transformation into a regional international organisation while maintaining its core principles of consensus and voluntary nature of cooperation.”
