ABU DHABI // The world is growing increasingly vulnerable to security threats and planning has proven essential, experts have said.
But integration also plays a vital role and combining efforts from the private and public sectors is necessary to ensure a successful preparedness plan.
“We live in an increasingly network world characterised by interchange and interdependence,” said Lord John Reid, the UK’s former secretary of defence and founder of the UCL Institute for Security and Resilience Studies. “Interchange brings with it opportunities to exchange finance, trade, goods, ideas, information and knowledge – probably greater opportunities than any other time in human history. But interdependence brings with it vulnerabilities because we are utterly dependent on each other for all of those and because those who would do evil will use that network to go from one place to another.”
He said that led to threats such as invasions of privacy, online fraud, international crime and terrorism.
“In short, that which reaches out can also reach in,” he said. “There’s a saying in the UK that ‘prevention is better than cure’ and that’s partly why we’re here, to share together in anticipation of such threats and to share best knowledge of how to counter them.”
Dr Anwar Gargash, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, said there were increasing challenges that needed to be faced in terrorism.
“We’re talking about a region that’s historically not stable and it witnesses a number of conflicts,” he said. “We will see a growth in the danger and threat of organisations such as Al Qaeda.”
Lord Reid said planning was essential. “We know we can’t anticipate exactly what will happen,” he said. “No plan survives first contact with the enemy and with reality, but that doesn’t mean planning isn’t necessary. As Dwight D Eisenhower once said: ‘The plan is nothing. Planning is everything.’ So today we share with people whose expertise and experience allow us to better plan, to anticipate and counter some of the challenges.”
Collective work is paramount. “Facing challenges and preventing organised crime stems from our belief that facing crime isn’t the liability of one party but a collective responsibility that requires combined work by all possible means to ensure safety and security and enhance stability throughout the world,” said Lt Gen Saif Abdullah Al Sha’far, the Ministry of Interior undersecretary. “The UAE exerts great efforts at all levels to protect security and stability and provide safety for all its citizens and residents, not only at the regional level but the global level.”
But efforts will go to waste if all sectors do not combine their work and Dr Goh Moh Heng, the president of the Business Continuity Management Institute in Singapore, said: “The challenge we find in the commercial sector when we have a disaster is that the private and public sectors are unable to integrate,” said. “Business continuity management involves being very clear to differentiate the elements within a series of incidents.”
He said the potential solution was a holistic approach to manage any incident. “Most organisations are designed not to work with each other because we’re very vertical but we have to work horizontally, which isn’t natural,” he said. “The key is integration between all the plans. When something happens, a security response will happen but if someone decides to rob a bank and shoot someone, you have a security incident which becomes a disaster so the private and public sectors must come together. It’s all about integration, working together as a group and centralising a plan.”
Lt Gen Al Sha’far said more interaction among different sectors would achieve the objective of making the UAE “one of the best in safety and security.”
“Security services are considered a kind of unique model,” he said. “The International Conference for Security Challenges is an extension of our own care to achieve more interaction among the concerned authorities and experts for regional and international security. The conclusions and recommendations we come up with will address security issues to meet our objectives and aspirations.”
cmalek@thenational.ae