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Yalchin Rafiyev: Azerbaijan will continue to contribute to the development of CICA

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Yalchin Rafiyev

02 December 2025 11:02 (UTC +04:00)

"Azerbaijan has chosen inter-university cooperation as a priority for transforming CICA into a stronger and more effective organization," said Yalchin Rafiyev, Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister and Azerbaijan’s Chief Negotiator for COP29, during his speech at the international conference "The Role of Universities in Green Energy and Sustainability" held at ADA University, APA reports.

“We have prioritized connectivity as a fundamental issue through strengthening cross-sectoral interaction, including in the economic, humanitarian, and environmental spheres, and we have worked to promote connectivity solutions in this direction. Azerbaijan has demonstrated its leadership in CICA, benefiting from its previous successful experience gained while chairing a small-scale forum. With the efforts of the chairmanship and the support of member states, CICA has managed, within just one year, to take the necessary steps in institutional development and increase trust in the region. To showcase this progress, we can highlight the partnership initiative to establish the CICA Women’s Council, which was unanimously supported by member states. At the same time, we finalized the establishment of the CICA Finance Summit. These two new advisory bodies will help advance the organization’s goals related to promoting activities in these areas. Azerbaijan’s chairmanship has also prioritized promoting synergies within CICA’s advisory policies. In this regard, the successful organization of the 13th CICA Think Tanks Forum held in Baku was achieved. This is the first such event dedicated to regional cooperation and governance among CICA member countries and brought together leading experts for productive discussions on advancing CICA’s agenda on global and regional issues. Considering the significant role of youth in promoting peace, cooperation, and sustainable development in the CICA region, Azerbaijan hosted the 8th CICA Youth Council meeting in Baku last month. More than 100 participants took part in this event, and an impactful package of recommendations was adopted,” Rafiyev said.

The Deputy Minister noted that Azerbaijan will continue to contribute to the development of CICA as an organization.