Pres. Raeisi says Iran's cooperation with Asian countries key to regional peace, stability

Iran's President Ebrahim Raeisi left for Astana on Wednesday to attend the 6th Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), stressing the importance of cooperation between Iran and Asian countries to ensure peace, stability, and security in the region.

Speaking to reporters at Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport before boarding the flight, Raeisi emphasized that active cooperation with regional and transregional organizations is part of his administration's foreign policy.

“Cooperation with these organizations is a good opportunity and can strengthen convergence, neighborliness and multilateralism,” he said, adding that cooperation with organizations such as CICA can provide an opportunity for Iran to make use of Asia's economic infrastructure.

“Mutual cooperation between Iran and Asian countries can bring peace, stability, and security to the region,” he highlighted.

6^th CICA summit

The 6^th CICA summit is set to take place in Astana, the capital city of Kazakhstan, on October 12-13 marking the 30^th anniversary of the initiative.

Aibek Smadiyarov, Kazakh Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson, said on Tuesday that the summit will be attended by heads of Azerbaijan, Iraq, Iran, Qatar, Kyrgyzstan, Palestine, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan.

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko will also participate as an observer while China and Vietnam will attend the event at the level of vice presidents.

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According to him, some 50 delegations from member states, observer states, observer organizations, partner organizations, and guests of the chairmanship are expected to attend the summit.

The idea of founding the conference was first proposed by former Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev on 5 October 1992, at the 47th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

The moving spirit behind this initiative was the aspiration to set up an efficient and acceptable structure for ensuring peace and security in Asia.

According to its website, CICA is a multi-national forum for enhancing cooperation towards promoting peace, security, and stability in Asia and is based on the recognition that there is a close link between peace, security, and stability in Asia and in the rest of the world.

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What's on the agenda of President Raeisi in his Astana visit? 

President Raeisi is accompanied by foreign minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian and deputy head of Iran's presidential office for political affairs Mohammad Jamshidi among others on the trip.

Several world leaders have asked for meetings with the Iranian president on the sidelines of the event, Jamshidi said, adding that priority will be given to officials who did not have the opportunity to talk with Raeisi at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, or the UN General Assembly, both held last month.

He said that heads of the Azerbaijan Republic and Qatar are among those who have called for a meeting.

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