PRESS RELEASE

A delegation of the CICA Secretariat, led by the Executive Director, Mr. Jandos Asanov, is visiting India from December 6-12, 2007. During the period December 6-8, 2007, the delegation called on H.E. Mr. E. Ahamed, Minister of State for External Affairs and held discussions with Mr. K.C. Singh, Additional Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs of the Government of India. The delegation also held meetings with H.E. Mr. K. Omarov, Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan to India and with H.E. Mr. Chenkyab Dorji, Secretary General of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). In addition, the delegation had briefing session with media representatives from leading newspapers and periodicals of India.

H.E. Mr. E. Ahamed, Minister of State for External Affairs reiterated India’s full support to the CICA process. Mr. Ahamed conveyed his deep appreciation for the vision of H.E. Mr. Nursultan Nazarbayev, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, in taking the initiative of convening the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia and his continued and unflinching support to the CICA process. He recalled that at the time of independence, Kazakhstan faced a number of challenges and President Nazarbayev handled these challenges single-handedly. Mr. Ahamed also dwelt on excellent bilateral relations between India and Kazakhstan based on centuries old links between the two countries. He was confident that the relations between the two countries would strengthen even further. He hoped for better cooperation between the two countries in the field of energy. Mr. Ahamed mentioned that he was looking forward to visiting Kazakhstan in near future.

During the meeting with Mr. K.C. Singh, issues relating to further development of the CICA process were discussed. As is known, India has been associated with the CICA process right form the beginning and has been supportive of CICA activities. India has volunteered to be co-coordinator with Republic of Korea for implementation Confidence Building Measures in Information Technology and Energy Security and with Azerbaijan in development of secure and effective systems of transportation corridors. India has also offered to host the meetings of the CICA Special Working Group and Senior Officials Committee during the second half of 2008 or beginning of 2009. Mr. K.C. Singh reaffirmed India’s commitment to the CICA process and promised full support for carrying the CICA process forward.

Mr. K.C. Singh hosted a dinner in the honour of the CICA delegation. The invitees at the dinner included Ambassadors of the Member States of CICA, senior officials of Ministry of External Affairs and representatives of think tanks. During dinner, CICA delegation had the opportunity to exchange views with the diplomats and members of think tanks.

During the meeting with the Secretary General of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, modalities for establishing formal links between the Secretariats of CICA and SAARC for exchange of information and best practices were discussed.

H.E. Mr. K. Omarov, Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan to India briefed the delegation on the steps taken by the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan to increase awareness about CICA in India through media and other means. He also informed the delegation that the Embassy has been actively involved with the Government of India and other agencies on CICA matters in its capacity as diplomatic representative of the Chairman of CICA.

During interaction with the Indian journalists, Executive Director of CICA, gave an overview of the CICA process and recent developments particularly with reference to the implementation of the Confidence Building Measures. The Executive Director also answered questions about India’s involvement with the CICA.