DUSHANBE (RFE/RL) — A summit of a 27-member regional grouping called the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) opened on June 15 in Tajikistan’s capital, Dushanbe.

Tajikistan assumes the responsibility of CICA Chairmanship for the period 2018-2020.

CICA is an inter-governmental 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 key idea of the Conference is based on the priority of the indivisibility of security, joint initiative and mutually beneficial interaction of small and large states.

The idea of convening the CICA was first proposed by Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev on 5 October 1992, at the 47^th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.