Azerbaijan Hosts Historic Summit Bringing Together Middle Eastern and Asian Leaders Amid Regional Tensions

For the first time since the Iran war began, senior delegations from Middle Eastern and Asian nations embroiled in ongoing political and military conflicts convened in Baku on Thursday for the Conference on Interaction and Confidence‑Building Measures in Asia (CICA), hosted by Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev convened the seventh edition of the CICA summit, bringing together Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al‑Thani, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Khalifa bin Shaheen Al Marar, a Palestinian delegation headed by Foreign Minister Varsen Aghabekian Shahin, and senior officials from China, including Foreign Minister Wang Yi, along with other regional and Asian leaders.

In his opening address, President Aliyev noted that, positioned at the crossroads of Asia and Europe, Azerbaijan is assuming a growing role as a pivotal connector within the Eurasian region.

He emphasized that Azerbaijan’s bilateral and multilateral cooperation across political, economic, transport, energy, and humanitarian domains bolsters regional security, highlighting the significance of the summit’s participants engaging together amid challenging times.

The CICA platform is described as a forum that promotes peace, security and cooperation through dialogue and mutual trust, employing confidence‑building measures to deepen collaboration across Asia, with an agenda covering regional security, transport connectivity, digital cooperation, and sustainable development.

On Thursday, the leaders of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan joined heads of state and government from China, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, India and Sri Lanka.

In a notable development, Israeli President Isaac Herzog arrived in Baku on Wednesday and met with President Aliyev, whom he described as a friend.

Through multiple social‑media posts, Herzog hailed Azerbaijan as an important partner for Israel in the region, stating that the visit seeks to further strengthen bilateral ties in security, energy and trade, and that his office will engage with the local Jewish community.

Herzog praised the “excellent” relations between the two countries, noting that under President Aliyev’s leadership Azerbaijan has earned deep respect, reliability and regional influence.

He said the relationship is founded on mutual respect, shared interests and historic ties, and that the meeting explored ways to deepen strategic cooperation for the prosperity of both nations.

Azerbaijan’s presidential office shared a video of the meeting on social media, accompanied by a brief statement confirming that the two leaders held talks.

Footage indicates that President Herzog traveled to Baku aboard an Azerbaijan Airlines commercial flight, enabling him to cross Turkish airspace.

In another engagement, President Herzog held an “excellent” meeting with Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Dr. Abdul Latif bin Rashid Al Zayani, discussing the friendship between Israel and Bahrain and the role of the U.S.-led Abraham Accords in enhancing Middle‑East security, stability and prosperity.

He conveyed his warmest wishes to King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and the people of Bahrain.

Since the outset of the Iran war in late February, Bahrain has faced extensive bombing by Iran, resulting in long‑standing strained relations between the two states.

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