Countries of Asia including Pakistan have established large forums to solve various problems at the international level, and the Confidence Building Organization in Asia (CICA) is also one such forum with 27 countries including Pakistan as members.
This forum consisting of Asian countries was established 30 years ago in 1992 with Pakistan as one of its founding members. The aim of the forum was to take measures for peace in the region, security issues and economic development in the continent.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif left for Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, on a 2-day official visit to participate in the CICA summit, and today the premier will address the summit and highlight the importance of the forum in dealing with common challenges.
During his earlier visits including to the United States, Prime Minister Sharif appealed to the international community to help the flood victims. The United Nations also demanded aid from rich countries for Pakistan, to help Islamabad in facing the worst destruction due to floods.
On the occasion of CICA’s summit, PM Shehbaz shall have an opportunity to meet the other member countries including Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Palestine, Qatar, Korea, Russia, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan.
Asian countries face many different, and in some cases very similar, challenges on different fronts. Issues such as climate change, global recession due to the Ukraine-Russia war, and commodity shortages are more or less important to all countries.
Given the current global scenario participation in the CICA Summit is a key opportunity for Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to highlight Pakistan’s economic concerns including the plight of flood victims. It is expected that the prime minister will highlight important issues while addressing the summit.
