Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus on Sunday said they want peace inside the country, among the countries and globally, stressing that all dedication should be on peace not on war.
Prof Yunus said every government in the world has a defence ministry, which is actually a war ministry, but there is no peace ministry.
“If your aim is peace, should not you have a peace ministry?,” the 2006 Nobel Peace Laureate posed a question highlighting the importance of having both ministries - peace ministry and war ministry - in governments of the world.
The chief adviser was addressing the members of the NDC and AFWC course at his office in Tejgaon and observed that most of the time; people kill one another in the name of peace. He greeted the members of NDC and AFWC courses and wished them success.
Prof Yunus said the military is fundamental to protect democracy and national interest; and hoped that they (course members) will serve their country through promoting justice and emancipation for all.
“I would like to request you to continue your quest for knowledge and I am confident that through your leadership you will provide fresh impetus to our quest for development," he said.
Prof Yunus said they are going through an extraordinary time in Bangladesh and such significant times require extraordinary people to rise above despite all obstacles and deliver.
“I hope our Bangladesh course members upon return to their places of duty will use their newly found knowledge to rebuild Bangladesh as a nation of zero poverty, zero carbon emission and zero unemployment,” he said, adding that there is a need for a collaborative approach.
Prof Yunus urged the young people to make up their mind and dream to bring a positive change in the country.
"I particularly encourage the young people to make up their mind, figure out and dream. Dream is the beginning of change. If you dream, it will happen. If you do not dream, it will never happen," he said.
"Ask yourself - 'what can I do for the world?' Once you figure out what you want to do, you can get it done because you have that power," Prof Yunus told the youths.
He said the young generation on the planet at present is the most powerful generation in the entire human history. "Not because they are smart enough but because they have enormous technology in their hands," he said.
"If you look at the student revolution, it is all about technology. They (students) could communicate with each other very quickly. They did not have any command structure," the chief adviser said, adding that the technology is the Aladin's lamp.
Prof Yunus said the young people of the country want to see a new Bangladesh and young people are not politicians and not pursuing some political goals but they want to have a new country for themselves, he said.
The chief adviser said it is a self-destructive planet as "we have done everything to just prepare to kill ourselves".
Citing an example, he said people are destroying the environment to destroy the planet.
"We have created a wrong civilisation - self-destructive civilisation," he said, adding that every day people are destroying the planet.
The technology that is growing and expanding and deepening will make the younger generation more powerful than ever, said the chief adviser.
