CICA Sec.-Gen.: Extension of Azerbaijan’s chairmanship in NAM speaks of demand for its approaches

On March 2, Baku hosted the Summit-level Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement Contact Group in response to COVID-19, which was attended by heads of state and government of about 70 countries, as well as heads of a number of international organizations, including Secretary General of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) Kairat Sarybay.

In an interview with Report, Kairat Sarybay shared his impressions of yesterday’s summit, spoke about the cooperation between the CICA and Azerbaijan, as well as about the post-COVID recovery.

- How is the cooperation between CICA and the Non-Aligned Movement proceeding? What contribution does the Baku Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement make to the fight against the consequences of the pandemic in the world?

- The Non-Aligned Movement has a long history. There are practically no non-aligned countries left in the modern world. The CICA is a younger organization compared to the NAM. We are united by the desire of our member states to develop multilateral diplomacy. This is what is needed today. It was the pandemic that showed that it is impossible to defeat coronavirus and cope with the consequences of the pandemic without joining efforts. Once again, I am convinced that the chairmanship of Azerbaijan at this difficult time has demonstrated precisely that the country that supports multilateral diplomacy is at the helm of the NAM. I considered the invitation of Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov to the summit to be very important for me. This invitation gave me the opportunity to brief the NAM countries on the steps taken by CICA member states to reduce the impact of the pandemic.

- How do you assess the role of Azerbaijan in the CICA? How active is the country in the organization?

- Azerbaijan adheres to multilateral approaches in resolving international problems and CICA is no exception. In addition, Azerbaijan is making a concrete contribution to our process. Before the pandemic, a meeting of the Youth Council of the CICA was held in Baku. Azerbaijan is the coordinator of an important area, which is an extensive measure of confidence, namely the development of transport corridors. This is in line with the geographical position of Azerbaijan, as well as with the openness of Azerbaijan precisely in order to develop global interconnectedness. Today, transport links are an important trend in multilateral diplomacy, but without the development of a system of interconnectedness, it would be very difficult to support the positive trends of globalization.

I believe that Azerbaijan has great prospects for continuing productive cooperation within the CICA, since we are aware of the success of this country’s multilateral diplomacy - as chairmanship of the Foreign Ministry Council of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, as well as activities as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. Active promotion on many international platforms, namely in multilateral approaches to international problems, distinguishes Azerbaijan favorably. The very fact that Azerbaijan’s chairmanship in the NAM was extended speaks of the demand for such approaches demonstrated by the leadership of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.

I believe that the CICA has serious prospects for developing its own interconnectedness, there are various formats which include the members of this organization: for example, “Türkiye-Azerbaijan-Kazakhstan” for the development of the Middle Corridor. This is fully in line with the needs of landlocked countries. There are five of them in Central Asia. Therefore, it is no coincidence that the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev put forward the idea of creating a Council on Sustainable Interconnection at the last meeting of the organization in Astana in October last year. Since Azerbaijan is the coordinator for the development of transport corridors, there is great synergy in this. The CICA Secretariat is working closely with Azerbaijan to hold an event on the CICA platform - a conference or a seminar on sustainable interconnection. Azerbaijan has such a wonderful project as the Alat port. Last year I had the opportunity to visit it, to see it with my own eyes. Prior to that, as a permanent representative of Kazakhstan to the OSCE, I was also involved in the development of landscaping of the ports of the Caspian Sea, including the port of Alat, as well as the ports of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. I am very aware of this issue, and having my own idea, I believe that we can ensure serious progress there.

- What contribution does CICA make to the post-pandemic recovery?

- The CICA immediately responded to this challenge and at the end of 2020, as soon as Kazakhstan was elected to the post of chair country in the CICA, it proposed to expand the catalog of CICA confidence-building measures. This is our main tool, where the spheres of interaction among member states are concentrated. Kazakhstan proposed to introduce a new measure: epidemiological safety and cooperation in ensuring public health. This measure was supported by all members of the organization.

Three CICA countries received a large set of medicines as a gift.

In addition, the pandemic has a lot of different aspects, first of all, it is a disruption of supply chains, and small and medium-sized businesses turned out to be the most vulnerable sectors. In this regard, special meetings on mutual practice, enrichment of experience were held at the site of the Business Council and the Business Forum of the CICA. We were able to respond to the challenges of the pandemic and develop digital solutions for small and medium businesses. The issue of ensuring food security was also raised, which was also clearly manifested in the coronavirus pandemic. The disruption of supply chains can be a major food security concern. However, in order to ensure the continuity of supply, issues of sustainability and interconnectedness come to the fore. The main thing is that while updating the infrastructure in the vast expanse of Asia, we should still pay attention to the preservation of the environment, “green” transformation.