Azerbaijan is preparing to host one of its most significant multilateral diplomatic events of 2026: the Seventh Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), scheduled for 15 October in Baku.
The gathering is bringing together senior representatives from countries that have very different geopolitical interests, including Israel, Türkiye, China, Russia, India, Iran and the Central Asian states. Besides, the presence of Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and senior representatives of other major Asian powers reflects the forum’s growing diplomatic reach at a time of regional instability and intensifying competition over trade, security and strategic influence.
Moreover, the summit matters for three interconnected reasons: Azerbaijan's growing diplomatic role, the search for practical cooperation across Asia, and the opportunity for countries with competing interests to engage through a common diplomatic platform.
It is also taking place against a difficult international backdrop, with tensions over the Middle East, conflicts affecting regional security, competition over transport corridors and growing efforts by Asian countries to diversify their economic partnerships.
A forum at a geopolitical crossroads
CICA is an intergovernmental forum designed to promote peace, security, confidence-building and cooperation across Asia. It was proposed by Kazakhstan's then President Nursultan Nazarbayev at the United Nations General Assembly on 5 October 1992. The initiative emerged from a recognition that Asia needed more opportunities for dialogue between countries with different security concerns, political systems and foreign policy priorities. Its first summit took place in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on 4 June 2002.
Since then, the organisation has developed into a broad diplomatic platform whose members include countries with sharply different political systems, security priorities and international alignments. Its membership encompasses China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Iran, Israel, Türkiye and several Central Asian and Middle Eastern states.
This diversity is both its principal advantage and its central limitation. CICA provides a setting in which countries can discuss shared concerns without having to agree on every geopolitical question. But consensus is difficult when members have conflicting interests, and the forum has no military alliance structure capable of enforcing collective security commitments.
The previous summit, held in Astana in October 2022, launched a process to transform CICA into a fully fledged international organisation. Azerbaijan has continued that work during its 2024–2026 chairmanship, with the drafting and proposed adoption of a CICA Charter among the principal objectives of the Baku summit. The document is intended to strengthen the organisation’s legal and institutional foundations. (CICA Secretariat)
The summit therefore carries institutional significance as well as diplomatic symbolism. An agreed charter could provide a firmer basis for cooperation, although it would not automatically resolve the disagreements that have constrained regional diplomacy.
Furthermore, Azerbaijan’s chairmanship reflects its interest in connecting diplomacy with economic development. The country occupies a strategic position on the Caspian Sea, linking Central Asia with the South Caucasus and routes towards Türkiye and Europe.
Baku has made connectivity, digitalisation and sustainable growth the central themes of its CICA programme. These priorities align with Azerbaijan’s efforts to develop the Middle Corridor, expand transport infrastructure and attract investment beyond its traditional energy sector.
The corridor, which links China and Central Asia with Europe through the Caspian Sea and the South Caucasus, has gained importance as governments and businesses seek to diversify trade routes. Azerbaijan’s railways, ports and links with Georgia and Türkiye form part of this wider network.
Digital infrastructure, artificial intelligence, renewable energy and sustainable development also offer areas in which CICA members can pursue practical cooperation despite political disagreements.
Hosting the summit allows Azerbaijan to bring these issues before a broad group of governments while strengthening bilateral relationships on its sidelines. However, diplomatic visibility alone will not guarantee investment or new transport agreements. The value of the meeting will ultimately depend on whether political commitments lead to tangible projects.
The 7th CICA summit to be held in Baku should be regarded as a significant event, further distinguished by the visit of a global power such as China to Azerbaijan. It is important to recognise that the shared interests of a number of countries today centre on the Middle Corridor project, which connects China with Europe, while the opportunities it creates are also enhancing the strategic importance of Central Asian states. Therefore, China’s trade links with Central Asia and its interest in routes connecting Asian markets with Europe make connectivity a natural subject for discussion.
For Uzbekistan and other Central Asian countries, closer relations with Azerbaijan can provide additional access to Caspian transport networks and markets further west. Cooperation on railways, ports, logistics and digital infrastructure could strengthen these connections, although progress depends on investment, infrastructure capacity and coordination among transit countries.
The summit also provides an opportunity for bilateral talks on subjects that extend beyond its formal agenda. Such meetings may prove as consequential as the collective declaration, particularly where governments are seeking specific economic or political outcomes.
Now a big question arises: Can diplomacy deliver results?
CICA’s previous summits show how the forum has evolved. The meetings in Almaty in 2002, Istanbul in 2010, Dushanbe in 2019 and Astana in 2022 gradually expanded its institutional framework and political agenda. The 2022 summit marked the beginning of the current transformation process, while Baku is expected to advance it further.
Moreover, the accession of Laos, approved during the preparations for the summit, would expand the organisation’s membership and strengthen its reach into south-east Asia. Meanwhile, the proposed charter and the final summit declaration will indicate how far members are prepared to formalise their cooperation.
The key question is whether CICA can move beyond broad statements of intent. Its members have considerable differences over security, territorial disputes and international conflicts. These are unlikely to disappear through a single summit.
Nevertheless, cooperation on transport, trade, digitalisation and sustainable development may offer a more attainable starting point. Such projects can generate mutual benefits without requiring governments to resolve every political disagreement.
For Azerbaijan, the Baku summit is an opportunity to demonstrate that its diplomatic relationships can support a wider regional agenda. As regards the CICA, it is a test of whether a diverse collection of Asian states can build stronger institutions while preserving the flexibility that makes dialogue possible.
The gathering will not settle the region’s deepest conflicts, however, its importance lies instead in whether it can turn diplomatic access into practical cooperation and whether Baku can help establish a forum capable of sustaining that effort beyond the summit itself.