AQEM's 7th Summit Meeting: Azerbaijan holds the chairmanship in 2024–2026
The 7th Summit Meeting of the ECO, which Azerbaijan chairs for 2024–2026, is being held; the organization brings together 28 member states, 10 observer states and 6 partner organizations.
The 7th Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA), chaired by Azerbaijan, is being held. The country will lead the organization in 2024–2026 under the slogan "A Stronger CICA: Connectivity, Digitalization and Sustainable Development in Asia."
Founded in 1992 on the initiative of Kazakhstan, the organization today brings together 28 member states, 10 observer states and 6 partner organizations. According to the source, the platform's distinctive feature is that it brings together countries with different political views, economic opportunities and security interests.
During the chairmanship, connectivity, digitalization and sustainable development have been identified as priorities; the strengthening of intersectoral ties in the economic, humanitarian and environmental spheres is envisaged. Within the framework of the meeting, the activities of the CICA Leading Universities Partnership Network, a cooperation platform among higher education institutions, were also on the agenda.
From a tourism and hospitality perspective, this primarily means a future flow of events and delegates: such summits create short-term demand for the hotel and conference sector in Baku. The long-term impact will depend on the expansion of direct flights and tourism exchange with Asian countries — the signal contains no specific decision on this matter.