Comment of the Information and Press Department of the MFA of Russia in connection with the participation of Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia S.V. Lavrov in the forthcoming meeting of the ministers of foreign affairs of the member states of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia that will take place in Astana

12 September, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation S.V. Lavrov will take part in the meeting of the heads of foreign agencies of the member states of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia that will take place in Astana (CICA), which will be dedicated to the 20th anniversary of this forum.

CICA was created at the initiative of the President of Kazakhstan N.A. Nazarbaev and has the objective of promotion of dialogue between the participants of the forum and elaboration of practical confidence building in the fields of politics, safety and economy.

The Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia includes such countries as Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Vietnam, Egypt, India, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Cambodia, China, Kirgizstan, Mongolia, UAE, Palestine, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and Republic of Korea. USA, Japan, Ukraine, Indonesia, Malaysia, Qatar, Bangladesh, Philippines, as well as the United Nations, the League of Arab States and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe also possess the observer status.

According to the Almaty Act that was adopted in 2002, CICA conducts activities on the basis of the principles of consensus, voluntariness, graduality and convenience for all the participants. The practical work relies on the basis of the Catalogue of Confidence Building Measures in military, political, economic, ecological and humanitarian dimensions, as well as in the field of fighting with new threats and challenges (of 2004).

Russia coordinates the interaction in the field of small and medium business, and together with Thailand and Kazakhstan developed the Concept and roadmap for cooperation in this direction.

Minister will freely discuss the state and prospects of the operation of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, modality of the further development of this dialogue. An exchange of opinions considering such actual subjects as the situation in Middle East and Northern Africa, situation in Afghanistan and around Iran, non-proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, fighting with terrorism, drug traffic and other type of organised crime, expansion of economic cooperation. The result of the discussion will be reflected in the summary declaration.

Bilateral meetings are planned on the sidelines of this event.

The Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia is recognised as a useful dialogue mechanism for the questions considering peace, stability and building confidence in order to improve the architecture of safety and cooperation in Asia. Russia considers this forum to be a necessary element of the system of multilateral dialogue partnerships in the spirit of network diplomacy, which is developing in the region, and intends to make weighty contribution to the operation of the CICA.

10 September 2012