Regional Leaders Target Terrorism At Asia Security Summit

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called on Asia to cooperate more closely in fighting terrorism and to build "sustainable" and "durable" security.

Xi was speaking at the opening of the fourth summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Shanghai on May 21.

For his part, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev called to turn CICA into the Organization for Security and Development in Asia (OSDA) as an alternative to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which Nazarbaev criticized for failing to prevent the crisis in Ukraine.

Tajik President Emomali Rahmon called on CICA member states for stronger targeted backing to Afghanistan as most foreign troops prepare to withdraw later this year.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian President Hassan Rohani, and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon are among those attending.

Founded in the early 1990s, CICA describes itself as a "multinational forum for enhancing cooperation towards promoting peace, security, and stability in Asia."

Key members of the 26-country group include China, Egypt, India, Iran, Pakistan, Russia, and Turkey. The United States is among nine observer states.

Based on reporting by Xinhua.cn, KazInform, and Interfax