THE 4th IISS REGIONAL SECURITY SUMMIT
THE MANAMA DIALOGUE
Manama Sunday 9 December 2007
IRAQ AND THE NEIGHBOURHOOD
Opening Remarks
Dr John Chipman CMG,
Director-General and Chief Executive, IISS
On behalf of all the participants in the IISS Manama Dialogue, I would like to pass on our heartfelt thanks and gratitude to His Highness, the Crown Prince of Bahrain, for the tremendous dinner he offered the delegates at the palace last night. Thank you very much indeed.
So far, our deliberations have been heavily preoccupied with the role of the United States in this region; the issue of the Iranian file; the matter of GCC regional and foreign policy; the question of how the Israeli-Palestinian issue affects the background against which regional and international diplomacy on the Gulf is practiced; but throughout there has also been some discussion of the other large security issue in the region: Iraq. This first plenary session this morning is entirely devoted to the relations between Iraq and its neighbours.
We have three excellent presenters. First the Minister of Defence of Turkey: Turkey has a crucial position in the neighbourhood. Mowaffak Al Rubaie, the National Security Advisor of Iraq, whose job is partially to seek the constructive engagement of Iraq’s neighbours in its political and security development; and the Rt Hon Bob Ainsworth, the Minister of State for the Armed Forces in the UK, a country that has provided an important contribution to coalition forces in Iraq.
As before, we will hear the three presenters in that order and open it up for questions and debate. I look forward to your full participation in that part of the session. First we have the Turkish Minister of Defence, Minister Gonul.
