Turkmenistan joined the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) as an observer. It was said by the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, during his speech in Astana at the VI Summit, devoted to the 30th anniversary of the initiative to create CICA.
Ha also informed about the decision to establish cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
In the VI CICA Summit, chaired by the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, took part President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, President of Iran Ibrahim Raisi, President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Zhaparov, Prime Minister of Pakistan Shahbaz Sharif, President of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas, President of Russia Vladimir Putin, President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, President of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Vice-President of the People's Republic of China Wang Qishan, Vice-President of Vietnam Vo Thi Anh Xuan, as well as President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko.
Following the summit, its participants adopted the Astana Statement on the beginning of the transformation of the CICA into a full-fledged international organization to promote mediation and peacemaking.
The Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia unites 27 countries which covers about 90% of the Asian territory and where lives almost half of the population of the world. This international forum aims to strengthen relations and cooperation of Asian and Eurasian states in order to provide sustainability and security in the region.
The idea of calling of the Conference was for the first time presented by the President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, at the 47th UN General Assembly in October 1992. CICA Summits are held every four year and every four-year Ministerial meeting is held. The first CICA summit was held in 2002. The next will be held in 2026.