CICA Secretary General undertakes visit to Sri Lanka

Secretary General of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) Kairat Sarybay undertook a one day visit to Sri Lanka on 22 February 2024. The CICA Secretary General was accompanied by officials of the CICA Secretariat which is based in Kazakhstan. CICA is an organization based in Central Asia which brings together countries from other regions of the world to work together on areas of mutual interest.  This is the first visit of a Secretary General of CICA to Sri Lanka. 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.

During the visit, Ambassador Sarybay paid a courtesy call on Foreign Minister Ali Sabry and had discussions with Actg. Secretary/Foreign Affairs Mohammed Jauhar. The discussions were focused on strengthening cooperation towards achieving the common objectives of the member states of CICA including in the areas of climate change, youth and tourism. Foreign Minister Ali Sabry reiterated the importance of elevating Sri Lanka’s engagement with the Central Asian region and welcomed the initiatives taken by CICA to actively involve the member states under the organization’s new ‘Road Map for CICA Transformation’.

The Secretary General of CICA also met with senior officials of several other Ministries.

CICA currently consists of 28 member states, 09 observer states and 05 observer organizations. Sri Lanka gained observer status of CICA in 2012 and full membership in 2018.