The capital of Kazakhstan, Astana, was set to host the sixth Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) summit. CICA is a multilateral forum for fostering international collaboration to advance stability, security, and peace in Asia. It is a conference built on the understanding that stability, peace, and security in Asia and the rest of the globe are closely related. The conference is extremely significant in the changing political landscape of World Politics. The Ukraine Crisis has intensified great-power competition and called into question the feasibility of an international system based on rules. The Russia-Ukraine war has had effects on South Asia as well with the polarization, arms race, inflation, and growing energy crisis. Against such a backdrop, the summit, which was one of the most important post-pandemic foreign policy events in the nation and on the continent, was attended by 11 heads of state, including the presidents of Azerbaijan, Belarus (observer), Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Palestine, Russia, Tajikistan, Türkiye, and Uzbekistan, as well as the Emir of Qatar. Nearly 50 delegations also participated. The most significant decision made at the 6th Summit, which was held to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the founding of CICA, was to “launch structured, inclusive, and transparent negotiations for a process of gradually, incrementally, and on the basis of consensus-building transforming CICA into a full-fledged regional international organization.”
– Saume Saptaparna Nath is a Research Associate at the KRF Center for Bangladesh and Global Affairs (CBGA). Previously, she worked as an Intern at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh.
