2 min readIstanbulJun 8, 2010 02:44 AM IST
First published on: Jun 8, 2010 at 02:44 AM IST
The third heads of state summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia Cica kicked off in Istanbul on Monday with a special event on the theme of economic and security cooperation in Eurasia in the 21st century.
Opened by Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan Kanat Saudabayev and his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutogolu,the event which brings together Cica with its European counterpart OSCE took place a day before the heads of state/government meet on Tuesday. Kazakhstan,which holds the chairmanship of OSCE this year,hands over the chairmanship of the 20-member Cica to Turkey at this summit.
While the Kazakh Foreign Minister noted that 1/3rd of global GDP now came from Asia,indicating the groupings economic clout,the Turkish Foreign Minister,whose country now takes the lead at Cica,sounded a cautionary note though by saying that most of the security challenges the world faced today,including terrorism,emanated out of Asia.
The goal of Cica,according to Davutogolu,would continue to be the indivisible notion of cooperative security,and not the often zero sum concept of collective security. The Turkish Foreign Minister said Afghanistan was the foremost challenge and needed more than just a military response.
On terror,Davutogolu took a dig at Israel,saying while terrorism was a common enemy,recent actions by Israel had blurred the lines between terror and the responsibilities of states. He called for an end to the inhuman and unlawful blockade of Gaza. This issue is likely to take centre stage at the Tuesday meeting.
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