Sri Lanka becomes a Member of Conference on Interactions and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA)

Sri Lanka was unanimously accepted as a Member of the Conference on Interactions and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) on 15 August 2018, by its 26 Member States, Government Information Department said. 

At a ceremony held in Beijing on 15 August, Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the People’s Republic of China, Dr. Karunasena Kodithuwakku signed the Declaration of Principles Guiding Relations among the CICA Members States and the Almaty Act, the two mandatory documents that a new Member State is required to sign to obtain full membership.

Established in 1992, the CICA is a multi-national forum for enhancing cooperation towards promoting peace, security and stability in Asia, which focuses on confidence building measures. Sri Lanka has been an Observer State of the CICA since 2012.

The membership of the CICA would further enhance Sri Lanka’s bilateral, economic and trade cooperation as well as people to people contacts with other CICA Member States. 

The Member States of the CICA include Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Russia, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Viet Nam.

The current Chair of the CICA is China and the Secretariat of the Conference is located in Astana, Kazakhstan.