The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, Vijitha Herath, addressed the 7th Ministerial Council Meeting of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) held virtually on 17th December 2024 highlighting Sri Lanka’s growing engagement with CICA and commitment to strengthening its partnership as CICA transitions into a fully-fledged international organization. Minister Herath emphasised the important role that can be played by CICA in ensuring stability, prosperity, and economic development across Asia through collective efforts. The Minister also welcomed the development of a funding pipeline under CICA Project Review Committee, established to address key challenges in the region including in the areas of food security, climate financing, women’s empowerment, and urbanization.
The Minister appreciated Kazakhstan’s pivotal role as the outgoing chair of CICA since inception and congratulated Azerbaijan on assuming the chairmanship of CICA at this Meeting. Minister Herath outlined the steps taken in the past year by Sri Lanka to significantly strengthen its cooperation with CICA, focusing on youth empowerment, environmental sustainability, climate change, mine safety and tourism cooperation including the facilitation of the first ever visit to Sri Lanka by the Secretary General of CICA in February this year. As part of efforts to deepen ties with Central Asia and CICA, Sri Lanka is expected to establish its first resident diplomatic mission in the Central Asia region in Astana, Kazakhstan. Sri Lanka also organized the inaugural Central Asia Forum in August 2024, to create a broader understanding among multiple stakeholders on CICA and priorities in the Central Asia region.
The Ministerial Meeting adopted the ‘25th Anniversary of the Declaration on the Principles Guiding Relations among the CICA Member States,' developed through collaborative efforts among member states over the past few months, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the inaugural CICA Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs held in 1999.
During the meeting, the Member States adopted several key documents including the Catalogue of Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) which outlines cooperation under the 5 dimensions of CICA i.e. military-political, new challenges and threats, economic, environment and human dimensions. Member States also adopted the Memorandum of Establishment (MoE) of the Partnership Network of Leading Universities (PNLU) of CICA Member States, which offers significant benefits in fostering academic collaboration, mobility, and research cooperation.
The Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) was established in 1992 as a multi-national forum to ensure peace, security and stability in Asia. Sri Lanka gained observer status in CICA in 2012 and full membership in 2018. Since then, CICA has expanded, covering a wide geographical area and fostering cooperation among the 28 member states and its multilateral partners.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism
Colombo
18 December 2024
