International Conference on “Counter Terrorism Strategy for South Asia”.

International conference titled “Counter Terrorism Strategy for South Asia” (CTS for SA), was held on 24 and 25 February 2009 at Radisson Water Garden Hotel in Dhaka, Organized by BIPSS. BIPSS has undertaken a regional research project in the field of Counter Terrorism Strategy (CTS).

International conference on “Counter Terrorism Strategy for South Asia” held

International conference titled “Counter Terrorism Strategy for South Asia” (CTS for SA), was held on 24 and 25 February 2009 at Radisson Water Garden Hotel in Dhaka, Organized by BIPSS. BIPSS has undertaken a regional research project in the field of Counter Terrorism Strategy (CTS).

The conference consisted of 2 segments; inaugural session and 4 working sessions. Dr. Dipu Moni, Honorable Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, graced the inaugural session as chief guest. Foreign Minister Dr Dipu Moni reiterated Dhaka’s call for intensified regional cooperation to fight terrorism saying nothing short of the expected mutual collaboration could enable the South Asian nation to effectively face the growing menace.

As mentioned earlier, BIPSS organized the two-day meet on Counter Terrorism Strategy for South Asia while its chief Major General (retd) ANM Muniruzzaman said “This is a big initiative in a small scale”.

Norwegian Institute of International Affairs fellow Laila Bukhari presented a keynote paper at the opening of the conference saying the world should have learned at least one thing from the terror attack on the United States and that was “militants can’t be faced militarily”. She suggested exploring ways for terrorist rehabilitation and intensified de-radicalization campaign.

All the South Asian Regional Research Forum (SARRF) member countries (Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal) attended the conference with their own delegations and presented two papers each during the conference. Besides, there were 3 key note presentations from noted terrorism experts from Singapore, Spain and Norway. A number of international experts also attended the conference from USA, Canada, Norway, Singapore, India, Australia, New Zealand and Germany etc..