Turkey to seek consensus as chairman of CICA Council of Foreign Ministers

16:45, 12 September 2012

ASTANA. september 12. KAZINFORM As the chairman of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), Turkey will seek consensus within the organization, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said at the opening of the jubilee session and IV meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the CICA member-states in Astana today.

"I know that achieving a consensus with a large number of members of the organization is a complex process, but, nevertheless, I can cite the CICA as an example that we can find a common position in the controversial issues. As chairman of CICA Foreign Ministers, Turkey will seek to find a common platform."

A jubilee session and IV Meeting of CICA Foreign Ministers have started at the Palace of Independence in Astana today.

The twentieth anniversary of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev's proclaiming the initiative at the UN General Assembly to convene the CICA by will be marked on Oct. 5.

According to the Almaty Act as of 2002, the CICA operates on the basis of consensus, voluntary, gradual and convenient principles for all participants. CICA Secretariat is located in Almaty.

"The current realities of the world situation require the CICA's activity," Davutoglu said.

"The variety, represented by participants of the organization, enriches us, rather than separates us," Davutoglu said.

The minister also said that Turkey is proud to be the CICA chairman and the country will continue to accelerate the potential of the organization.

CICA includes Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Vietnam, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Cambodia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, the United Arab Emirates, Palestine, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Republic of Korea. The U.S, Japan, Ukraine, Indonesia, Malaysia, Qatar, Bangladesh, the Philippines, and the United Nations, the Arab League and the OSCE have an observer status.

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