MM Rahmatullah: SM Shafiuddin Ahmed, Chief of Army Staff has stressed that one friendly state cannot be pleased at the cost of offending another state.
The army chief was addressing a seminar on defense diplomacy organized Thursday afternoon by the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS).
The army chief said, “We are in contact with the Myanmar leadership. But you all are aware that there are sanctions on the senior Myanmar officials. Keeping in communication with them amounts to placing ourselves at risk. After all, all countries are our friends. We cannot please one country at the cost of offending another. We must keep this reality in mind.”
The army chief said it cannot be denied that all agencies of the government are working in the interests of the country. The best task is to search for opportunities and to work in a favorable environment. It is not possible to achieve success alone. The big challenge is how to cooperate with everyone.”
SM Shafiuddin Ahmed said, “Military strategy is required for the country’s interests and strategy and it is on this basis that we determine our position with various countries. There is no way to achieve this in an isolated manner. That is why we sometimes think of who will lend leadership, who will hold control. This can create problems.”
Placing importance on having an agency to coordinate government work, the army chief said, “There are many things that we started but could not complete because it later was not in our hands. Whenever I found potential in the business sector, it later went to the commerce ministry. And so I support the proposal that has been made here and feel that an agency is required to ensure that integrated initiatives are taken so we do not lose what we achieve and to determine future initiatives.”
Stressing the need to increase capacity, the army chief said that circumstances may change at any time, but capacity doesn’t change suddenly. Today’s friend may not be a friend tomorrow. We must be prepared to protect national interests and the motherland. The foreign policy’s main mantra is ‘friendship towards all and malice towards none’.
The army is doing everything to achieve the objective of the foreign policy. He said, “The main task of the armed forces is to protect the sovereignty of the country and we will never forget this. We are always prepared.”
BIISS chairman FM Gausul Azam said, defense diplomacy functions on the larger dimension of foreign policy.
Chief of General Staff (CGS) Lt. Gen. Waker-Uz-Zaman, speaking at the seminar, said, “There may be misconception among many about defense diplomacy, but our diplomats understand the need for this very well.”
