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| Royal Australian Air Force C-130 unloads cargo (File Photo) |
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Tuesday 15 September 2015 - The 44th Pacific Area Senior Officers Logistics Seminar (PASOLS) was officially launched today in a ceremony held at the Indera Samudera Hall Empire Hotel and Country Club.
The three-day conference is jointly organised by the Ministry of Defence through its Directorate of Logistics and the United States Pacific Command (USPACOM) and marks the second time the Sultanate has co-hosted PASOLS with the United States. The first time being in 2004.
PASOLS aims to promote open dialogue for military logistics chiefs in the Asia-Pacific region to further build Supply Chain networks and enhance cooperation towards a more consolidated response to common security challenges, in particular Peacekeeping missions. The theme carried for this year is “Joint Logistics”.
Heads and representatives of military logistics organisations from 28 countries are taking part in the conference. The countries are Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Canada, China, France, Indonesia, Japan, Kribati, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tonga, United Kingdom, United States and Vanuatu.
Present as guest of honour at the opening ceremony was First Admiral Dato Seri Pahlawan Abdul Aziz bin Hj Mohd Tamit, Deputy Commander of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces.
On the sidelines of PASOLS, various bilateral meetings will also take place between the participating countries and a table-top exercise will be conducted.
Initiated by US Army in 1971, PASOLS serves as an annual regional avenue that gives military logistics chiefs the opportunity to come together, interact closely and exchange logistics ‘best practices’. Its continued significance is a strong reflection of its importance in shaping a more robust interoperable relationship in addressing the multi-faceted challenges in the Asia-Pacific region.