Future conflicts will require a integrated multi-state approach, says President

New Delhi: Future conflicts will require a more integrated multi-state and multi-agency approach as the security of a nation is no longer confined to preserving territorial integrity but encompasses economic, energy and food security, President Pranab Mukherjee said on Wednesday. Security areas like economic, energy, food, health, environmental and several other dimensions are important for security of a nation, he said while addressing members of 55th batch of National Defence College. [caption id=“attachment_2495186” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  President Pranab Mukherjee in a file photo. PTI[/caption] The members of the team of the course comprise members from all the three armed forces, IAS, IPS and officials from friendly nations. Recalling the words of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, while inaugurating the NDC in 1960, the President said, “defence is not an isolated subject. It is intimately connected with the economic, industrial and many other aspects in the country and is all encompassing”. “Intensive research and quality analysis in all fields and disciplines is thus a pre-requisite which calls for a holistic approach to studies across a vast spectrum of disciplines,” he said. He said the role of the armed forces has expanded far beyond traditional military matters with the revolutions in military affairs and globalisation. “It is clear that future conflicts in the complex defence and security environment will require a more integrated multi-state and multi-agency approach,” Mukherjee said. “There must be a conscious effort to strengthen the underlying linkages and not divide them into watertight compartments. Adopting such an approach will yield rich dividends. At the same time, one must not lose sight of the larger picture and keep the primary objective always in focus,” he said. Mukherjee, who has earlier served as Minister for Defence and External Affairs, said the global environment today poses numerous challenges to the world because of its dynamic nature. “The astonishing pace at which events have unfolded in the recent past could not have been foreseen a decade earlier,” he said. PTI