SAARC and CICA Meetings held

SAARC and CICA Meetings held

Part of: GS Prelims and GS-II – International Relations

In news

• Recently, the Foreign Ministers’ meetings of the SAARC and the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) took place in a virtual manner.

Key takeaways

• India called the SAARC countries to collectively resolve to defeat the scourge of terrorism, including the forces that nurture, support and encourage an environment of terror and conflict.
• Pakistan also made a detailed statement on the resolution of “long-standing disputes”
• All SAARC nations built a common stand on the need to cooperate in battling the coronavirus pandemic.

Important value additions

Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA)

• It is a multi-national forum for enhancing cooperation towards promoting peace, security and stability in Asia.
• The First Ministerial Meeting of CICA took place in September, 1999.
• It consists of 27 member nations from Asia including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Egypt, India etc. 
• Japan, Indonesia, USA etc. are some of its Observer Nations.
• Republic of Tajikistan is the CICA Chairman for the period 2018-2020.