President to attend Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, Tajikistan

President Maithripala Sirisena left for Tajikistan to attend the 5th Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), scheduled to be held in Dushnabe.

President Maithripala Sirisena

The CICA is an international forum to strengthen cooperation, established to ensure peace, security and stability in Asia. It was set up in 1992. Sri Lanka received its observer status in 2012 and became a member in 2018.

The Member States of the CICA include Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Russia, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. CICA membership covers about 90% of the territory and population of Asia. It has another 8 states and 5 international organisations, including the UN, with observer status.

CICA membership would further enhance Sri Lanka’s bilateral economic and trade cooperation, as well as people-to-people contacts with other CICA Member States. CICA is different from other security mechanisms, which are commonly dominated by super powers. It has the characteristics of an “Asian initiative,” which values equality among members, and is led by small countries.

President Sirisena is scheduled to address the CICA Summit on 15 June. The President will have bilateral meetings with several leaders, including Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon, on the sidelines of the CICA Summit in Dushnabe.