As the global political and economic gravity shows a tendency to shift to Asia-Pacific, security issues of this vast continent and region inevitably comes more into international focus. In this context, Conference on Interaction and Confidence building measures is undoubtedly acquiring a more prominent profile.

Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) is a multi-national forum for enhancing cooperation towards promoting peace, security and stability in Asia. It is a forum based on the recognition that there is close link between peace, security and stability in Asia and in the rest of the world. The Member States, while affirming their commitment to the UN Charter, believe that peace and security in Asia can be achieved through dialogue and cooperation leading to a common indivisible area of security in Asia where all states co-exist peacefully and their peoples live in peace, freedom and prosperity.

The two founding documents of CICA are Declaration on the Principles Guiding Relations among the CICA Member States adopted at the First Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs held in Almaty on 14 September 1999 and Almaty Act, the charter of the CICA, adopted at the First Summit Meeting held in Almaty on 4 June 2002. These two documents became the stepping stone towards future evolution of the CICA.
At present, CICA has twenty four Member States accounting for nearly ninety percent of the territory and population of Asia. Eight countries and four multi-national organizations, including United Nations, have the observer status. For becoming a member of CICA, a state must have at least a part of its territory in Asia.

External relations of CICA are governed by Guidelines for CICA’s External Relations. CICA seeks to establish contacts and links with United Nations and regional and international organizations in support of its efforts to enhance peace, security and economic development in Asia. CICA was conferred observer status by the United Nations General Assembly at its 62nd session in 2007. CICA has signed Memoranda of Understanding with Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC) and International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Republic of Kazakhstan was the founder Chairman of CICA and hosted three Ministerial Meetings (1999, 2004 and 2008), two Summit Meetings (2002 and 2006) and a number of preparatory meetings for inception of CICA during the period 1992 – 1999. The secretariat of CICA is in Almaty. The rotating Executive Director ,since 2010, is a senior Turkish diplomat. In June 2010, Republic of Turkey hosted the Third CICA Summit in Istanbul and assumed the Chairmanship of CICA in June 2010. China will host the fourth CICA Summit and assume the Chairmanship of CICA in mid-2014.

In an era where global realignements and new balances are taking shape, Turkey,at the nexus of Eurasia, while anchored in Europe, does its best to contribute to a peaceful and prosperous evolution in asia.