Annual peacekeeping meeting to be held in Colombo

The conduct of the forthcoming Asia-Pacific Peace-keeping Training Centre Commandants’ Conference (APPTCCC) and the Annual General Meeting of the Association of Asia-Pacific Peace Operations Training Centres (AAPTC) will take place during August 1-3 at Hotel Taj Samudra, Colombo.

The arrangement to be held for the 8th consecutive year is jointly coordinated and supported by the Institute of Peace Support Operations Training in Sri Lanka (IPSOTSL) of the Sri Lanka Army, Secretariat AAPTC in Bangladesh and the Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI) under the United States Pacific Command (USPACOM).

This year’s APPTCCC, themed on ‘Challenges of Developing a Robust Peacekeeping Mindset’ within the Asia-Pacific region is expected to be graced by more than 50 delegates from its twenty-one member countries, including Australia, Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, China, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Republic of Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Brunei with an observer as per the Director General Training of the Sri Lanka Army who is behind its successful implementation.

Delegates of the GPOI, BIPSOT, IPSOTSL, United Nations Department of Peace Keeping Operations (UNDPKO), International Organizations such as OMA, ALCOPAZ, APSTA, EAPTC and a few more senior military Officers of the Sri Lankan armed forces would also contribute to the Colombo sessions on ‘Challenges of Developing a Robust Peacekeeping Mindset’.

The concept for the APPTCCC, mooted first by BIPSOT in 2008 aims to develop a network between peace-keeping centres through exchange of knowledge and understanding, experiences, dialogue, research, UN training curriculum to face any future complex scenario, cooperation and share related concerns among AAPTC members.

A preparatory session of the forthcoming Association of Asia-Pacific Peace Operations Training Commanders’ Conference (AAPTC), aimed at developing a theme for the AAPTC Annual General Meeting in 2017 was held last November 15 – 16 at the Institute of Peace Support Operations Training Sri Lanka (IPSOTSL) in Kukuleganga.

Directorate of Army Training had the initial preparatory sessions organized in November last year with comprehensive APPTCCC discussions for two days at the IPSOTSL in Kukuleganga with the participation of representatives of the BIPSOT Secretariat from Bangladesh, US Pacific Command, US Navy, Major General A.P. de Z Wickramaratne, Director General General Staff of the Army as the Chair, Major General G.V Ravipriya, Director General, Directorate of Army Training, Brigadier H.P.N.K Jayapathirana, former Commandant, IPSOTSL and a few IPSOTSL instructors. Brigadier Prasad Pathirathna, Commandant, IPSOTSL will take over the chairmanship of the AAPTC on the first day of the forthcoming conference sessions.