Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will attend the seventh meeting of the Council of Heads of State and Government of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Baku on Oct. 15, representing President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Fidan arrived in Baku on Oct. 14 and was welcomed at Heydar Aliyev International Airport by Azerbaijan’s Minister of Youth and Sports Farid Gayibov.
CICA grew out of an initiative put forward at the UN in 1992 by Kazakhstan’s first president, Nursultan Nazarbayev. According to Secretary General Kairat Sarybay, it now brings together 28 states, including Russia, Türkiye, Azerbaijan and the Central Asian countries. Azerbaijan holds the chairmanship for 2024-2026.
The Middle Corridor and Gaza
Turkish diplomatic sources say Fidan will highlight transport projects backed by Ankara, the Middle Corridor across the Caspian and Central Asia and the Development Road, set out Türkiye’s position on the war in Gaza, and call for cooperation in trade, energy and digitalization. The summit is expected to adopt a Baku Declaration and announce Laos as a new member.
Central Asian leaders praised Azerbaijan’s preparations for the summit in a joint statement on Oct. 8.
Fidan is expected to address the summit and hold several bilateral meetings. He is set to call for stronger multilateral diplomacy and to draw attention to Israel’s expansion of the area it occupies in Gaza, obstacles to humanitarian aid deliveries and settler violence in the West Bank. The summit will also discuss aligning the Middle Corridor with China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Türkiye is one of CICA’s founding members and chaired the organization from 2010 to 2014.
In the shadow of a headscarf row
The trip comes amid tension between Ankara and Baku over reports that students and teachers wearing headscarves were turned away from schools in Azerbaijan. After criticism from Turkish presidential adviser Oktay Saral, Azerbaijan’s ruling New Azerbaijan Party accused some Turkish politicians and media of a smear campaign. There has been no official word on whether the issue will come up in Baku.
