MINSK, 13 October (BelTA) – Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko has arrived in the capital of Kazakhstan to attend the summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), BelTA has learned.
The Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) is an international forum that unites countries of the Asian continent. The organization endeavors to enhance mutual relations and cooperation of Asian and Eurasian countries with a view to ensuring stability and security in the region. Attending the summit are several delegations from a number of countries. Since its inception the organization has grown larger and now includes 27 member states and 9 observer states, including Belarus. It covers over 90% of the territory of Asia.
Two main items are on the agenda of the summit: an updated catalog of confidence-building measures in Asia and the transformation of the conference into a genuine international organization.
Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei told media: “The Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia is an important venue for meetings of heads of state, who represent a significant part of the planet. It is a venue for discussing topical issues, which are related not only to politics but also to trade and economic interaction, interaction in fight against crime, terrorism, and other areas. This venue is very important and interesting for us. The more Belarus gets involved in the operation of various regional, international integration associations, the more beneficial it will be for our country.”
Vladimir Makei said that the Belarusian side is interested in the possibility of securing concrete agreements on various matters, including various humanitarian affairs, trade and economic aspects, and the issues relating to the threats the mankind faces.
In turn, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to Kazakhstan Pavel Utyupin pointed out that converting the conference into a genuine international organization is on the agenda. Although the scope of the conference partially coincides with that of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, countries enjoy much broader representation within the framework of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia. The CICA offers an alternative venue where countries can discuss topical issues and express their points of view albeit they can be diametrically opposite at times. “But they can attempt to hear each other. Today the most important thing in diplomacy is to continue dialogues and try to get the point of every individual country across to each other. Regretfully, many traditional platforms do not allow hearing each other sometimes and sometimes disallow countries to say what they have to say despite the fact that these platforms have a higher status,” the diplomat noted.
The ambassador added that due to Western pressure representatives of Belarusian delegations had faced artificial restrictions, including the denial of visas for participation in international events. “These artificial restrictions should not exist. Platforms [like CICA] are valuable because we can try to work out complicated solutions, which are necessary for maintaining peace, stability, and further sustainable growth,” Pavel Utyupin stressed.
The diplomat is convinced that such platforms demonstrate what genuine democracy should be to make a dialogue possible.
