The President of the Republic of Uzbekistan takes part in the meeting of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia

Astana hosts the Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia with the participation of about 50 delegations from participating countries and observers, as well as international and regional organizations.

The forum was attended by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ebrahim Raisi, the President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Zhaparov, the Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Shahbaz Shareef, the President of the State of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas, Amir of the State of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, the President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, the President of the Republic of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, the Vice President of the People’s Republic of China Wang Qishan, and the Vice President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Vo Thi Anh Xuan.

The Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) is an international forum aimed at enhancing cooperation in security and stability, intensifying trade and economic partnership, and interaction in environmental issues. This year, the forum celebrates the 30th anniversary of its establishment.

Presently CICA has 28 Member States. Another 9 countries and 5 international organizations have the status of observers. The supreme body of the CICA is the Summit of Heads of State and Government. Since 2020, Kazakhstan has been chairing the CICA.

President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, in his speech at the Astana Summit, assessed the current international situation, which is developing against the backdrop of an unprecedented lack of dialogue and trust, and growing uncertainty in international relations.

As the Head of the state noted, “new geopolitical realities have a negative impact on the stability of the entire Asian region. Crisis phenomena directly affect the Central Asian states and hinder our efforts to deepen economic integration”.

In this regard, he noted the need for paying special attention to the situation in Afghanistan, which, against the background of other acute international problems, began to fade into the background.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev called for the development of common, coordinated approaches to interaction with the interim government of Afghanistan. He proposed to consider the possibility of a joint appeal by Asian countries to the United Nations General Assembly with the initiative to form a high-level international negotiating group to prepare and agree with the Afghan authorities on an algorithm for the phased fulfillment of the obligations of the parties.

A dangerous challenge for general security is the wide expansion of radical ideas, attempts to actively involve young people in extremist organizations.

In this regard, the demand for systemic cooperation was noted. “Young people should believe in themselves, feel involvement in shaping a just future, be able to realize their potential and hopes”, the Leader of Uzbekistan said.

As a co-chair of the Youth Council of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, Uzbekistan proposed to launch a new format – the Dialogue of Generations, designed to promote better mutual understanding between people of different ages, a joint search for solutions to the most pressing problems of youth.

The President of the Republic of Uzbekistan put forward several initiatives to adapt the economies of Asian countries to the growing negative consequences of the global crisis:

– prevent the strengthening of protectionism, as well as the introduction of new restrictions that destabilize global markets;

– strengthen connectivity in the Asian region, primarily through the creation of production and logistics chains and transport corridors that effectively connect Central Asia with South and East Asia, as well as the Middle East;

– promote the knowledge economy as the basis for the transition to a new stage of the global industrial revolution.

– more fully use the potential of innovation transfer, actively stimulate digitalization, the development of cloud technologies, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev proposed new approaches to overcome problems in food security. This is the formation of sustainable food production schemes and optimal food delivery chains, the harmonization of technical regulations for the growth of intra-regional trade, the creation of an integrated system for monitoring food security in Asia.

These issues will be discussed at the International Conference under the auspices of FAO to be held in Uzbekistan in 2023.

To solve the problems of ecology and climate change, it was proposed to join forces and launch regular expert consultations within the framework of the Green Asia conceptual program on the intensive greening of our countries and support for vulnerable ecosystems.

Summing up, the President of Uzbekistan expressed confidence that it is possible to effectively overcome modern challenges only through dialogue, taking into account the interests of each other and observing the universally recognized norms of international law.

That is why the main goal of the Samarkand Solidarity Initiative for Common Security and Prosperity, put forward by him, is to involve in a constructive dialogue all those who care about the future of mankind, who strive for peace, harmony and common prosperity.

Leaders of member states, heads of delegations of countries and international organizations that have observer status also addressed the summit. UN Secretary-General’s video message was presented.