NAVIES from 50 countries, including Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, the US and China, began a five-day multinational Aman exercise led by Pakistan in the Arabian Sea on Friday. Pakistan Navy has been hosting this mega event biannually and the success of it can be gauged from the increasing number of participation ever since its inception back in 2007. This in itself speaks volume of the professional excellence of our sea defenders as well as manifests Pakistan’s commitment to making seas safer for positive human activities.
With the passage of time, dynamics of international maritime security have changed. Today the security of the maritime sector is being undermined by threats such as piracy and armed robberies, terrorism, trafficking of different sorts including human, arms and drugs etc, illegal activities in the fisheries sector and intentional and unlawful damage to the marine environment.
The fact is that no single country can handle these challenges on its own or alone. Strong international cooperation is needed not only to address them but also eliminate their root causes such as poverty, insecurity and weak governance structures. In this backdrop, Aman exercise has provided an effective platform to the countries to come together and share their experience and expertise in order to collectively ensure safer seas which in fact are a major lifeline for the world trade.
It would not be wrong to say that the Aman exercise has made its landmark in the Indian Ocean region as a symbol of sustainable peace and security and we are confident that the event will not only consolidate the process of collaborative maritime security but also help the participating countries explore new avenues of collaboration. The 8th edition of the exercise is also special and important in the context that simultaneously Pakistan International Maritime Expo and Conference has also been organized to showcase the country’s immense maritime potential. With such kind of activities, we can really highlight the significance of CPEC and Gwadar Port for world trade which ultimately will bring vibrancy to our economy.
