13 July 2011 | Rixos Grand Hotel, Ankara, Turkey
Mr. Chaminda Hettiarachchi- Associate Director, RCSS and Ms. Suranthi Boange, Programme Officer-RCSS, attended working group meetings on Water Security and Energy Security from 13th – 15th July 2011 in Ankara, Turkey. These meetings were organized by the Regional Network of Strategic Studies Centers (RNSSC), Near East South Asia Center (NESA Center) for Strategic Studies of National Defense University (NDU) in Washington D.C and the Foundation for Political, Economic, and Social Research (SETA) in Turkey.
Mr. Chaminda Hettiarachchi presented a paper on Water Security in Sri Lanka at the water security working group meeting. The paper highlighted the history of water management in Sri Lanka, the main dimensions of the water security in the Sri Lankan context, the achievement of the country and the challenges faced in water security. The audience of international water security expert,s appreciated the paper presented by Mr. Hettiarachchi while emphasizing the unique case of Sri Lanka in the South Asian context in terms of water management and achievements. The working group further also discussed issues of water security issues in the Middle East and South Asia particularly with respect to environmental changes and political dynamics in the region. The discussions led to important conclusions which can be used in policy related implementations by the regions and respective individual countries.
Ms. Suranthi Boange made a presentation on the current scenario with respect to energy and environment security in Sri Lanka at the energy security working group. The energy security group explored current problems and challenges faced in securing long-term energy demands for the Middle East and South Asia regions, as well as the viability and safety of nuclear power to meet regional energy demands and also further examined the different country perspectives on adopting nuclear power as a safe energy source. The energy security working group identified areas of interest for further analysis and research based upon the specific needs of the South Asian and the Middle Eastern group members. The South Asian working group identified the following areas for further research and preparation of policy papers, these were namely; (1) Regional Cooperation on Energy, (2) Nuclear Energy: South Asian Perspectives, (3) Maritime & Energy Security in the Indian Ocean, (4) Energy pipelines in South Asia.
The two working groups are expected to submit policy papers on the identified topics at the plenary session meeting, scheduled to be held in Istanbul, Turkey in November 2011.
