Laos has signed the founding documents of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), taking a key step towards joining the organization. Once the decision is approved, the number of CICA member states will reach 29.
According to Report, citing Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry, the signing ceremony was held in Baku today.
The ceremony was attended by Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, Lao Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Thongsavanh Phomvihane, CICA Secretary General Kairat Sarybay and a representative of Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry, who serves as the depositary of the organization’s founding documents.
During the ceremony, the Lao foreign minister signed the Declaration on the Principles Guiding Relations between CICA Member States, dated September 14, 1999, and the Almaty Act, dated June 4, 2022.
Jeyhun Bayramov, Thongsavanh Phomvihane and Kairat Sarybay addressed the event, highlighting the significance of the decision for the organization. They congratulated Laos and extended their best wishes ahead of its accession to the organization.
The final decision on Laos’s membership is expected to be approved on October 15 at the 7th CICA Summit in Baku.