Baku:State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir reaffirmed Bangladesh's commitment to enhancing regional cooperation among Asian countries during the 7th Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Baku.
According to United News of Bangladesh, the State Minister expressed Bangladesh's full support for transforming CICA into a fully-fledged international regional organization. He emphasized the need for a clear legal status, a strengthened Secretariat, predictable financing, and effective decision-making within the organization.
Minister Kobir proposed three specific initiatives to foster meaningful partnerships among member states. These include implementing results-oriented sectoral projects with formal follow-up mechanisms, organizing more in-person events to engage wider stakeholder participation, and enhancing exchanges among member states' ICT institutions. He also highlighted the importance of developing confidence-building measures for a secure, open, and trusted digital space to tackle emerging challenges in ICT and AI.
The summit, chaired by Azerbaijan, is themed "A Stronger CICA Connectivity, Digitalization, and Sustainable Growth in Asia," reflecting key priorities for Asian nations. Lao PDR was welcomed as the 29th member of CICA, which was established in 1999 to promote peace, security, and stability across Asia. The summit also confirmed Azerbaijan's chairmanship for 2026-28 and appointed Sultan Hajiyev as the next Secretary General of CICA.
In a notable development, the Bangladesh delegation, led by State Minister Humaiun Kobir, staged a walkout during the Israeli president's address at the summit, joined by representatives from several other countries in protest. The seventh CICA summit continues to gather leaders and senior representatives to discuss regional cooperation, security, and confidence-building measures in Asia.