COLOMBO, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's in-house expertise on defeating terrorists can be of immense benefit for the rest of the world especially in the face of terrorist threats, Sri Lanka's Defence Secretary Karunasena Hettiarachchi said here on Thursday.
Addressing the inaugural session of the "Colombo Defence Seminar - 2016" which kicked off in the capital on Thursday, Hettiarachchi said that seven years after the end of war on terrorism, the country's leadership had realized how important it was to share the knowledge gained over the decades with the international community.
Sri Lankan forces fought a 30-year civil war against Tamil Tiger rebels which ended in May 2009 with the defeat of the rebels.
Hettiarachchi said that in today's world "soft power" was more critical than ever to securing national interests since building of friendship and understanding between peoples enhances a state's security, underpinning peaceful co-existence.
Hettiarachchi said having deterred terrorism by hard power, Sri Lanka was still in the process of reconciliation.
He said it was important to transform the Sri Lankan identity from a "soldier of a 30-year war" to an advocate of values, culture, institutions, art, tourism, education and economic and military capabilities in informing, influencing and shaping ideas in the global stage.
