The idea of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) was first proposed by Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev on October 5,1992, at the 47th Session of the United Nations General Assembly. CICA formally started its activities in March, 1993.

There are 26 member states in CICA, including China, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Egypt, India, Iran, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Palestine, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Thailand, the Republic of Korea, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, Iraq, Bahrain, Cambodia, Qatar and Bangladesh, and 11 observers (including sovereign states and international organizations) -- Indonesia, Malaysia, USA, Ukraine, Japan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and the United Nations, the OSCE, the League of Arab States and Parliamentary Assembly of the Turkic Speaking Countries (TURKPA).