Secretary to the Ministry of Defence Eng. Karunasena Hettiarachchi chaired the inaugural discussion on “Regional security perspectives” organized by the Institute of National Security Studies of Sri Lanka (INSSSL) with the collaboration of the COSATT at the ministry premises on Friday (26th August 2016).
Secretary of Defence / Chairman of INSSSL, Eng. Karunasena Hettiarachchi, speaking on regional security perspectives said “The INSSSL would serve as an important arm in framing issues in a novel perspective, articulating alternative frameworks, identifying and taking the first national steps to bring about change and ultimately helping to shape the security debate in the region.
From our President Sirisena’s friendly relationship with the region and India’s Modi doctrine which has spelled out clearly the importance of regional integration individual governments struggle to find the time to deal with complex cross-border issues from climate change to digital security, and they cannot be left to deal with these problems alone. Collaborative think tanks can ensure that governments remain engaged in multi-stakeholder process; and are essential in ideational processes that government can apply and other stakeholders can implement. Ranging from the 2016 Dhaka hostage situation to the border conflicts of regional powers that continue to unfold, it is vital to recognize the importance of collaborative integration of the think tanks in the region.”
There were fifteen distinguished scholars from the region who participated for the discussion and amongst them Major General (retd.) ANM Muniruzzaman, BIPSS, Dhaka highlighted the importance of Sri Lanka as a major maritime nation in developing a maritime security architecture for the security of the South Asian Region.
Dr. Nischel Pandey, CSAS, Kathmandu said that this collaboration with the INSSL and COSATT is a great achievement. And we should use this opportunity to strengthen joint research for common challenges.
Dr. Beatrice Gorawantschy, Head, Political Dialogue Asia and Pacific, Konrad Adenauser Stiftung, Singapore stated that “I wish success for this collaboration and it is very important for Think Tanks to work in collaborative research.”
The Director General of INSSSL, Asanga Abeyagoonasekera mentioned that “Think Tanks getting together and collaborating is a great achievement specially to improve the regional security perspective by scholarly thematic papers and discussions we could advice governments to make the right decisions and to create a secure and peaceful world.
The event was a great success, with many ideas and thoughts on traditional as well as non-traditional security issues in South Asia brought forward by many scholars.