Turkey, Istanbul, June 7 / Trend S. Suleymanov /
A summit of the leaders of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) will be held outside Kazakhstan for the first time this year, Kazakh Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ilyas Omarov said.
"The summit will transfer the presidency from Kazakhstan to Turkey. Turkey's adoption of the presidency will give further impetus to the forum's international prestige, as well as increase Turkey's political influence as chairman," he said.
Turkey has chosen to establish a cooperative security in Asia as a priority of its presidency, Omarov added.
"Plans for the summit include signing a convention on privileges and immunities of the secretariat, its staff and its representatives, as well as to adopt a final summit document," he said.
The main phase of institutionalizing the forum will end with the signing of the CICA convention, Omarov said.
"The adoption of a political declaration will provide a new impetus to the CICA in promoting peace and security in Asia. In addition, the sides will also consider an action plan to combat drug trafficking," he added.
Vietnam and Iraq are also expected to be accepted into the organization as full members during the summit, while Bangladesh will likely be granted observer status.