Diplomacy and Development feature in Bloomberg roundtable
Posted Friday 3 December, 18:23
By Alexander Nicoll, Director of Editorial
A preview of the hot issues at the Manama Dialogue was provided by a Bloomberg roundtable hosted by Lara Setrakian, who asked a five-man panel about the impact on Gulf diplomacy of the Wikileaks disclosures. Andrew Shapiro, US Assistant Secretary for Political-Military Affairs, said they were unfortunate but that underlying relationships were strong. What the leaked cables showed, he said, was diplomats doing their job. Policies would not change. Emile Hokayem, IISS Senior Fellow for Regional Security, said personalities were revealed but agreed that the fundamentals would not be affected.
With new talks due next week on Iran’s nuclear programme, this issue is at the top of the minds of most people assembling for the Manama Dialogue. Sh Sultan al Qassemi, Fellow, Dubai School of Government, said there was scope for more active diplomacy from Gulf states, and Bahrain’s finance minister, Sh Ahmed bin Mohammed al Khalifa, noted that events like the Manama Dialogue helped to promote this. There was also a strong feeling in the roundtable, however, that regional security went hand in hand economic development. Sh Mohammed bin Essa al Khalifa, Chief Executive of the Bahrain Economic Development Board, noted that the region had been through three wars, and that there was a need to insulate them from the effects of security threats. The region now offered a tremendous economic opportunity.
