The Fifth Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) has begun in the Kohi Navruz Palace in Tajikistan’s capital city.

The forum is attended by over 30 delegations from participating countries and observer nations, as well as international and regional organizations.

Ahead of the session, the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev received a warm welcome from the President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon.

Afterwards, the heads of all delegations took part in the ceremony of joint photographing. The leader of Tajikistan opened the summit.

CICA is an international forum aimed at promoting peace, security and stability, enhancing the well-being of countries and peoples in our continent.

Today, the Conference is composed of 27 member states, accounting for 90 percent of the territory and population of Asia. Eight nations and five prominent international institutions – the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the League of Arab States, the International Organization for Migration, the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic-speaking countries – are granted observer status.

Over the past years, four CICA summits have taken place under the chairmanship of Kazakhstan, Turkey, and China. The current meeting is held under the slogan “A single view for a safer and more prosperous region”.

The meeting agenda contains the development of concerted approaches to ensuring peace, security and stability in the continent, countering terrorism and extremism, illicit drug trafficking, to expanding trade, economic and humanitarian cooperation among member states and interaction in environmental protection.