On 11 - 13 March 2014, Thailand hosted the meetings of the Special Working Group (SWG) and the Senior Officials Committee (SOC) of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Chiang Rai Province. 55 representatives from 15 member and observer countries attended the meetings, which was chaired by Ambassador Süphan Erkula, Chairman of CICA. The Thai delegation was headed by Mr. Manopchai Vongphakdi, Director General of the Department of South Asian, Middle East and African Affairs. 

During the meetings, member states discussed the implementation of confidence building measures (CBMs) in four different dimensions: military-political, new threats and challenges, economic and human dimensions. Several relevant documents were thoroughly considered, including the draft Plan of Action for Implementation of United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, the Regulations of the Establishment of CICA Business Council and CICA Youth Council.  The meetings agreed to organize an annual Business Forum to serve as a venue for cooperation among the member countries’ private sectors.  The member states also considered the draft Declaration for the upcoming 4th CICA Summit, to be held on 21 May 2014 in Shanghai, China.
At the CICA SOC meeting, the member states welcomed the nominations of the new CICA Chairman and CICA Executive Director as proposed by China—the  next CICA chairman. 

During the Chiang Rai meeting, the CICA delegates paid their visits to two remarkable local attractions, namely the White Temple and the Hall of Opium Museum—a showcase of Thailand’s efforts in combating illicit drugs production and trafficking.
Mr. Phongsak Wangsamer, Chiang Rai Governor hosted a luncheon for the delegates, where he delivered his remarks and stressed on the importance of Chiang Rai as ASEAN gateway to China, and connecter of Southeast Asia with the rest of Asia.

Mr. Manasvi Srisodapol, Acting Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also hosted a welcome dinner for the delegates. In his dinner speech, an Acting Permanent Secretary outlined Thailand’s vision to promote and strengthen Asia through close cooperation among regional groupings, particularly between CICA and ASEAN.

Thailand has been a proactive participant of the CICA since it first joined the fora in 2004. At this meeting, Thailand expressed its readiness to organize a two-week training course on the rehabilitation of drug addicts in September this year.  As co-coordinator with Russia in the SME sector, Thailand has organized a seminar on developing CICA’s SME database on 12 March. During the seminar, participants were enriched with fundamental knowledge on developing database, which they will apply for their enterprises.

This is the second time Thailand hosted the CICA SWG/SOC meetings. The meetings in Chiang Rai concluded with great success, laying the groundwork for the next meetings in Ankara next month, which will be a lead up to the 4th CICA Summit in China in May.