UNB, Dhaka :
Chief of Army Staff General Iqbql Karim Bhuiyan on Wednesday said cooperation is the key to success in combating non-traditional treats.
“Today the entire human race is facing common enemies like hunger, disease, natural disasters and illegal drugs. When we all fight against a common set of enemies on a single front, we have no other means to win over the threats but to cooperate within ourselves,” Gen. Iqbal Karim told the conclusion session of the 4-day long the 38th Pacific Armies Management Seminar (PAMS-38) at Hotel Radisson.
The Army Chief said the multidimensional, transnational, complex and hybrid threats facing the region demand that “we practice greater resilience, share our thoughts, ideas and information and pursue a truly unified approach towards the solution.”
He said the pervasive and globalized nature of threats demands that “we too gear up our countermeasures to a regional and global scale.” “It will only be possible if we brush aside our minor differences and join our hands together,” he added.
Gen. Iqbal Karim said the seminar provided the participants with an opportunity to share their ideas and views.
“The fact that we have been able to develop a deeper understanding of each other- lays open the road to peace and stability,” he said.
He hoped that senior army officers attending the seminar would guide the new generation military leaders to work for peace. “The legacy of strong partnership we have developed here need to be induced among our junior leaderships at home to shape a better future for all.”
Vincent Brooks, Commanding General of the US Army, Pacific also spoke at the closing session.
The 38th PAMS began on Sunday. PAMS has been held throughout the Asia Pacific region since 1978. The 39th PAMS will be held in Indonesia in 2015.
Army officers and security officials from 23 nations in the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean region attended the seminar.
It was co-hosted by the Bangladesh Army and the US Army, Pacific with the theme ‘A new focus on the Asia-Pacific region: Opportunities and challenges for land forces’
