Kazakhstan: EAM Jaishankar urges CICA members to ensure Afghan soil not used for terrorism

Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar on Tuesday emphasised the importance of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures (CICA) Ministerial 2021 in addressing ongoing challenges. He outlined the role of CICA in combating the concerns like terrorism, pandemics, and the safeguarding of global commons. He further highlighted that recent developments in Afghanistan had caused legitimate alarm.

"Highlighted that Afghanistan developments have generated understandable concern. The Voice of CICA can be a positive factor in shaping a global response. The progress of CICA adds to the case for reformed multilateralism," he wrote on Twitter. He also urged CICA foreign ministers to ensure that Afghan land was not used to support terrorism and to facilitate the development of an inclusive government in the war-ravaged country. He also believed that CICA's voice has the potential to influence how the international community responds. 

Earlier this week, EAM Jaishankar had stated that India was closely monitoring events in Afghanistan and emphasised the significance of the Taliban regime satisfying the international community's expectations as outlined in UN Security Council Resolution 2593. The United Nations Security Council resolution 2593 states unequivocally that Afghan territory must not be used for terrorist sheltering, training, planning, or financing, and specifically mentions terrorist individuals sanctioned by the UN Security Council, such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad. Dr Jaishankar also asked the forum to bolster its collective will in the fight against terrorism, arms trafficking, drugs trafficking, and other transnational crimes. 

"It is now more necessary than ever to strengthen our collective will to combat terrorism, arms trafficking, narcotics trafficking, and other types of transnational crime. The cooperative behaviours promoted by CICA may be useful in this regard," he was quoted as saying by the news agency ANI. He also said that Asia's progress is inextricably linked to the rest of the globe. Whether it's the threat of terrorism and extremism, the health, economic, and social consequences of the pandemic, the preservation of global commons, or the pursuit of sustainable development goals, the continent must recognise the indivisibility of its existence. Multilateralism and democratic decision-making were also emphasised by Jaishankar. According to him, the changes in the world order represented in CICA's consolidation also constitute a compelling case for reformed multilateralism. "More democratic decision-making must be practised in our heterogeneous environment," he added. 

CICA was founded in 1999

The Indian Foreign Minister also stated that members of CICA are fully committed to the goal of promoting Asia's peace, security, and stability as the inter-governmental forum approaches its 30th anniversary and this meeting will be another step in that direction. "We are glad that the vision of the first President of Kazakhstan, Elbasy Nursultan Nazarbayev, of establishing CICA as a forum for promoting peace and stability in Asia has come a long way. We look forward to his continuing guidance," he was quoted as saying by PTI. 

It should be mentioned here that CICA is a forum that was founded in 1999 with the goal of improving collaboration through developing multilateral approaches to fostering peace, security, and stability in Asia. It presently includes 27 member nations, 9 observer states, and 5 observer organisations. Since its foundation, India has been a member of CICA and has actively participated in different CICA-sponsored activities. Kazakhstan was this year's chair, and Jaishankar expressed gratitude to the country for superb arrangements and generous hospitality for the CICA Foreign Ministers Meeting.

With agency inputs

Image: Twitter/ @ Dr. S. Jaishankar