MINSK, 12 October (BelTA) – Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei took part in the 6th meeting of ministers of foreign affairs of the member states of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA), BelTA learned from the press service of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Conference opened with a meeting with Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
During the plenary session, the parties discussed the increasing global role of the Conference in facilitating interaction in Asia, enhancing security and building confidence between countries. The participants of the meeting upheld the initiative to transform the CICA into a full-fledged international organization while preserving the fundamental principles of its operation.
In his speech, Vladimir Makei welcomed the increased international standing of the Conference, its important role in developing collective approaches to addressing regional problems and reconciling positions on security issues in Asia.
According to the Belarusian foreign minister, it is time to build an inclusive global development architecture that would, among other things, promote partnerships with the largest players in Europe and Asia - the EAEU, the SCO, the CSTO, the CIS, the European Union and ASEAN. It is also the essence of Belarus' initiative to resume a broad dialogue on building confidence, strengthening security and cooperation, as well as creating a ‘digital good-neighborliness' belt.
The foreign minister emphasized the importance of the Asian region for Belarus where Belarus has common trade and economic interests with the EAEU partners and where it is working tightly with its CSTO allies to maintain collective security.
The foreign minister noted that Belarus is keeping its finger on the pulse of developments in Afghanistan as the situation in this country has an impact on the security in the CSTO member states. He emphasized Belarus' interest in restoring peace in Afghanistan, normalizing the situation, and creating an enabling environment for a national dialogue.
On the sidelines of the event, Vladimir Makei held a number of meetings, namely with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia Batmunkh Battsetseg, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan Abdulaziz Kamilov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic Ruslan Kazakbaev, Israeli Minister of Tourism Yoel Razvozov, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Central Asia Natalia Gherman and others.
The parties discussed bilateral cooperation, the international agenda, and mutual support in international organizations.
The Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia was established in 1992. The main objective of CICA is to strengthen cooperation by developing multilateral approaches to ensuring peace, security and stability in Asia. The Conference brings together twenty seven countries. Nine countries (including the Republic of Belarus) and five international organizations have observer status.
