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Chinese president calls for building harmonious Asia

    ALMATY, Kazakhstan, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao called for the building of a harmonious Asia of enduring peace and common prosperity, at the second summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) being held here on Saturday.

    "Asia is a continent of great diversity. ... Solidarity and coordination of the Asian countries and peoples are crucial for the success of Asia," Hu said at the one-day summit.

    The Chinese president urged Asian countries to increase mutual trust and coordination to build a new type of security architecture.

    "We should respect every country's right to safeguard national unity, pursue its development strategy and formulate domestic and foreign policies independently," he said.

    As Asian countries are diversified in culture and civilization, Hu called on different nations to "respect the diversity of human civilizations and encourage their mutual exchanges and mutual enrichment."

    While calling for strengthened cooperation within regional organizations such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, ASEAN and CICA, President Hu also urged Asian nations to uphold multilateralism and strengthen cooperation internationally to create favorable conditions for the development of Asia as a whole.

    Hu also stressed that the CICA Forum has become a platform where different civilizations carry out dialogues and different countries seek mutual understanding.

    On the economic front, Hu suggested that Asian nations bring into full play their economic synergy and actively enhance cooperation in areas such as energy, transportation, finance, agriculture, telecommunications and public health.

    "Asia is crucial for China's development" the president said, adding that China "pursues a foreign policy of fostering a harmonious, secure and prosperous neighborly environment."

    CICA, a forum aimed at increasing security in Asia, was initiated by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who called for its creation at the 47th UN General Assembly in 1992.

    The CICA now comprises 17 members and has nine countries as observers. Its first summit was held in Almaty in June 2002. Enditem

2nd CICA summit ends with declaration

    ALMATY, Kazakhstan, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Leaders from member countries of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) on Saturday called for strengthened cooperation against non-traditional threats and terrorism.

    In a declaration issued at the end of a summit in Almaty, the leaders stressed the importance of adhering to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and called for increased cooperation among Asian nations in dealing with non-traditional threats and challenges. Full story 

Backgrounder: Basic facts about CICA

    CICA is a mechanism aimed at uniting Asian countries and strengthening their relations and cooperation, in a bid to stabilize and safeguard the region.

    The initiative on convening CICA was put forward by Nazarbayev at the 47th session of the UN General Assembly in 1992. Full story