Foreword
The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) has pleasure in presenting this report, a summary of the proceedings of The Second IISS Regional Security Summit: The Gulf Dialogue. Following an inaugural meeting in 2004, this second summit was held, again in The Kingdom of Bahrain, from 2–4 December 2005.
The Gulf Dialogue is intended to provide a forum for the national security establishments of the participating states to exchange views on the security challenges of the region. Although many private bilateral and multilateral meetings are held between the government delegations, this report is intended to summarise only the discussions that took place involving all summit participants in plenary and break-out sessions.
In publishing this account, the IISS hopes to draw attention to the challenges and opportunities in the region as perceived by those most directly responsible for its security. The issues raised during the summit will guide the IISS in organising future Dialogues and conferences in the region involving government ministers and senior officials. We will also draw on the discussions summarised here in developing our own research programme, which is intended to inform the wider public on regional security questions and to generate ideas for sound public policy in response to regional challenges.
The IISS would like to thank The Kingdom of Bahrain and the many ministries and agencies involved in supporting this event for their kind and vital assistance.
We would in particular like to recognise the gracious and generous support provided by His Majesty King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa without which the IISS would not have been able to convene this unique gathering.
The IISS looks forward to our continuing partnership in the service of promoting regional dialogue and understanding.
Dr John Chipman CMG
