Addressing the VII CICA Summit in Baku, the President of Kazakhstan outlined plans to work jointly with Azerbaijan to increase the volume of Kazakh oil transported through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, Qazinform News Agency reports, citing the press service of Akorda.
The Head of State also highlighted the growing importance of the Caspian Sea for the region's energy security. “It is evident that the Caspian Sea is gaining vital importance for energy security, both in our region and globally. Kazakhstan strongly believes that the Caspian Sea must remain a place of peace and cooperation for the benefit of all nations in the region and beyond provided that this unique Sea will be saved by joint efforts in terms of water and ecology,” Kassym-Jomart Tokayev stated.
The Head of State also noted the growing importance of CICA’s environmental dimension. In his view, water scarcity and ecosystem degradation had become among the most serious challenges facing Asia. “Asia and the Pacific are home to 60 percent of the world’s population but holds only 35 percent of its water resources, giving our region the lowest per capita water availability on Earth.
Kazakhstan insists that water must continuously be a source of cooperation. In this regard, we propose to create a CICA Water Partnership to promote tech exchange, joint research and the deployment of water-saving solutions. More broadly, Kazakhstan proposed to establish an International Water Organization within the United Nations system, one that could bring coherence to the global water agenda.
This initiative could be brought forward as a joint one on behalf of Central Asian countries and Azerbaijan with the door open for all CICA member-states,” the President said. As it was previously reported, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev arrived in Baku for a working visit to attend the Seventh CICA Summit.
Today, the Head of State is participating in the VII Summit of the Conference on Interaction in Confidence-Building Measures in Asia in Baku. Earlier, on the sidelines of the Summit, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev met with his Israeli counterpart, Isaac Herzog. The two sides exchanged views on current international issues, including the situation in the Middle East.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev reaffirmed Kazakhstan's principled stance on the need to de-escalate tensions and resolve conflicts exclusively through diplomatic means. Addressing the Summit, Tokayev highlighted CICA’s special role in ensuring security in Asia and called for strengthening the international security system in Asia.
He also suggested CICA states jointly shape Asia's digital future.