Work together for peace, security

Speakers urge South Asian govts

4 January 2012, 18:00 PM

Diplomatic Correspondent

Japanese Ambassador in Dhaka Shiro Sadoshima addressing a two-day international conference organised by Bangladesh Institute of International Strategic Studies (BIISS) at its auditorium in the city. On his right are Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Lt Col (retd) Faruk Khan and BIISS Director General Muhammad Imrul Quayes.Photo: STAR

The South Asian governments must work together to permanently establish peace and security in the region as these two issues will continue to be the major global challenges, said speakers at an international conference yesterday. South Asia was home to peaceful coexistence for centuries but now is one of the world's violent and conflict-prone regions, they added. The two-day conference, “Prospects for Peace and Security through Regional Cooperation in 21st Century South Asia: The Role of Japan”, was organised by Bangladesh Institute of International Strategic Studies (BIISS) at its auditorium in the city. The conference presented the final outcome of a research project taken a year ago to determine the major challenges to regional cooperation in South Asia and explore Japan's potential role in the region. The research was conducted by scholars from Japan, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal. Addressing the conference's inaugural session as the chief guest, Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Lt Col (retd) Faruk Khan said South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) could not achieve its full potential in the past three decades. “I would not say that it failed,” he said, but added that politicians in Saarc countries must take more effective steps in bringing dynamism towards establish peace and security in the region. “Peace and security will continue to be the challenges in the days to come,” he said. Describing Japan as the “champion of peace” since World War II and important to the region, he said, “We need to be in search of peace regionally and Japan should continue to play a major role.” Japanese Ambassador in Dhaka Shiro Sadoshima, speaking as the special guest, said the world should think about issues like reducing the gap between the rich and poor and counter-terrorism strategies. He said major powers like the US are looking for stability and prosperity in Arab and other regions. “But what kind of condition should we provide and what kind of role should Japan play? Japan is seriously thinking about it,” he added. The ambassador said Bangladesh and Japan would like to think together for South Asia's peace and security. Presiding over the conference, BIISS Director General Muhammad Imrul Quayes said Saarc, unlike European Union or Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean), did not achieve much success in attaining its goal. Asean has the Asean Regional Forum, which focuses on security issues, but Saarc has no such body. As a result, it has not succeeded in addressing and resolving issues of bilateral conflicts, he said. The inaugural session was followed by two separate working sessions where four keynote papers were presented. Former ambassador M Afsarul Qader chaired the first session where research fellow of University of Malaysia Lt Gen (retd) Aminul Karim presented the paper, “Regionalism in South Asia: A Conceptual Analysis”, and Prof Toshiya Hoshino of Osaka University, Japan presented another, “Japan's Foreign Policy toward Asia in the 21st Century”. Foreign Service Academy Principal Touhid Hossain chaired the second session where Neila Husain, country representative of Safeworld, Bangladesh, presented a paper, “The Role of Japan in Promoting Regional Cooperation in South Asia”, and Prof Rabindra Khanal of Tribhuvan University, Nepal presented another, “Japan-Nepal Relations”. Each presentation was followed by open discussions by diplomats, academia, media, government officials, business circles, representatives from civil society and professionals.