Azerbaijan Hosts 7th CICA Summit and Admits Laos

President Ilham Aliyev chaired the seventh summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Baku on October 15, 2026. During the event, Aliyev announced the admission of the Lao People's Democratic Republic as the organization's newest member and led discussions on the adoption of the Baku Declaration, a document addressing international order, artificial intelligence, and environmental risks.

In the lead-up to the summit, Aliyev conducted a series of high-level bilateral meetings. He met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog to discuss a strategic partnership defined by military and energy interdependence, with Israel providing over 70% of Azerbaijan's arms imports and Azerbaijan supplying roughly 40% of Israel's oil. This relationship drew a warning from the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Command of Iran, which demanded that Azerbaijan expel Israelis to prevent regional insecurity. Aliyev also met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to expand cooperation on the Middle Corridor and the Belt and Road Initiative.

Other diplomatic activities included meetings with Vietnamese Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan to discuss energy partnerships between SOCAR and PetroVietnam, and the arrival of Tajikistan's President Emomali Rahmon. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan represented President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, using the forum to condemn Israeli military operations in Gaza. In his plenary address, Aliyev asserted that "Armenia forced us into war," while regional leaders from Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan praised Azerbaijan's chairmanship and called for global peace.