Excellencies and distinguished colleagues,
a very good afternoon to all.
At the outset, I congratulate the Republic of Kazakhstan for hosting this informal meeting of CICA Ministerial Council. I bring to you warm greetings of my Foreign Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar and his best wishes for a successful and productive meeting. I would also like to convey his warm regards to H.E. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan Mr. Murut Nurtleu as the Chairperson of CICA Ministerial process.
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.
The dynamism imparted by the present Chair to the CICA interactions and vision for 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.
As a founding Member of CICA, India is happy to contribute to endeavours and enhanced interactions in CICA. We have been deploying professional diplomats on secondment to the CICA Secretariat for nearly two decades now. India has constructively contributed to various CICA meetings and interactions, actively supported CICA’s initiatives, and organized and participated in various CICA activities. Following up on the successful workshop on ‘Energy Security’ in June 2021 and webinar on ‘Role of Traditional Medicine’ in February 2022 convened by us, we organised two significant events in our capacity as the Coordinator of the ‘Combating Terrorism’ CBM. A virtual workshop on the topic ‘Counter Radicalization’ was held in February, and another on ‘Misuse of Internet’ was held in May. We are pleased to note the wide and active participation among CICA Member States among these initiatives.
India supports inclusive, consultative and consensus based multilateral cooperation. We appreciate the initiatives taken by CICA for promoting peace and development in Asia through confidence building measures. We view CICA as an important forum to promote multilateralism in diverse and multipolar Asia.
As I had mentioned to H.E the Secretary General of CICA during our interactions in New Delhi earlier this year, we look forward to the ‘Asian Spirit’ being upheld and further reinforced at CICA.
We are confident that CICA would continue to evolve into a balanced, open and inclusive framework for Asian countries to interact and cooperate in addressing multi-faceted challenges, acting in accordance with our common vision for a more secure and prosperous Asia.
Thank you.