Friday 7 December 2007, 9.00 pm
SPEAKERS
Dr John Chipman CMG
Director-General and Chief Executive, IISS
Sheikh Khalid Bin Ahmed Bin Mohammed Al Khalifa
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bahrain
The fourth IISS Regional Security Summit was opened by Dr John Chipman, IISS Director-General and Chief Executive. The Manama Dialogue, he said, was the only forum that brought together the national-security establishments of the Gulf States, alongside those of key outside powers engaged with the region. Through the Dialogue, the IISS and the Kingdom of Bahrain sought to ensure a comprehensive examination of regional security issues by policymakers.
While the IISS had no agenda in convening the summit other than to provide opportunities for public and private consultations, it was a policy-relevant organisation and hoped that its work could inform the thinking of regional leaders. While continuing to analyse classic security topics – such as great-power interests, the balance of power, deterrence, arms races and security architecture – the Institute was striving significantly to expand its research on issues of security in the region, and between the region and others. It was working on transnational threats; sectarianism and inter-community relations in the region; the economic underpinnings to security and development; political reform and regional stability. In particular, the IISS was studying the implications of the push to develop civilian nuclear energy and the associated potential proliferation risk. The Institute had examined social, political, developmental and military dimensions of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was drafting an ambitious programme to examine the changing links between the Gulf and Asia. In 2008, the IISS would celebrate its 50th anniversary. Chipman said: ‘An organisation that played a large role in the past, developing strategic thought relevant to the so-called East–West conflict, has now grown to be a shaper of debate on regional conflict, global transnational issues, international political risk and conflict resolution.’
Sheikh Khalid Bin Ahmed Bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bahrain, was introduced by Professor François Heisbourg, Chairman of the IISS Council. The minister remarked that two recent meetings had built momentum towards a new era of compromise in the Middle East region, based on both need and will. These were the peace conference at Annapolis, Maryland, in November and the 28th Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) Summit held in Qatar in December.
At Annapolis, the Palestinians and Israelis had agreed to engage in ‘vigorous, ongoing, and continuous negotiations’ in the hope of concluding an agreement by the end of 2008. Each party recognised that realising the objectives of the other was vital to achieving their own objectives. An independent, democratic and viable Palestinian state would give Palestinians the opportunity to lead their lives in freedom, purpose and dignity, and would enable the Israelis to live in peace with their neighbours.
At the GCC Summit in Qatar, leaders had underlined the importance of making the Gulf a region of prosperity and good governance with a promising common market. Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had participated in the summit and had made proposals for security, economic and scientific cooperation between the GCC and Iran. ‘We see the presentation of these proposals as a positive development to enhance peace in the region and to ensure stability and security, as well as to reinforce the relations of good neighbourliness and mutual respect’, the minister said. It was necessary now to ensure that Iran’s relations with the region and the world could become a source of stability, rather than conflict. No regional country should conduct its relations with the world in a confrontational way. And while Iran had the sovereign right to use nuclear power for peaceful purposes, it was essential for it to cooperate fully with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
It was widely recognised that the security situation in the Gulf had far-reaching global implications. Gulf security was a mutual responsibility and a common challenge, requiring close coordination between regional leaders and their people, as well as among governments. An enduring security order must provide cultural, material, psychological and even spiritual benefits: justice, freedom, prosperity, mutual respect for identities and cultures, and a ‘general sense of safety’. Sheikh Khalid said: ‘This means that this is not a competition or a zero-sum game in which one party wins and achieves all its interests at the expense of the others via threats, coercion and violence. Have we not learned from history that a deep-rooted security order can only be achieved through compromise, cohabitation and respect for the other?’
Important steps had already been taken and mechanisms established. For example, the Istanbul Initiative provided instruments for practical cooperation in the defence and security fields for Gulf countries and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). In November, Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior had hosted a Middle East Homeland and Global Security Forum, which had discussed methods to assess and address terrorist threats. However, much more needed to be done, for example on enhancing the involvement of major international organisations such as the IAEA so as to strengthen regional security. Bahrain had signed an agreement with the IAEA to ensure the implementation of safeguards, as set out in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The IAEA could be a confidence-building institution in the region, because of its monitoring, technical advice and reporting expertise.
The entire Middle East region was undergoing a socio-political transformation, in which traditional forms of realpolitik were being left behind, the minister said. Societies were becoming more open, while a population boom could lead to high unemployment and economic stagnation. Meanwhile, the regional security environment was ‘characterised by news and events that are inherently transitional; that are inherently transnational; and uncontrollable in nature’. Amid the cross-border flow of political arguments, information and ideologies, states were quickly becoming more interdependent. Sheikh Khalid asked: ‘Are we prepared? Are we properly educated? Are we ready to take on such a challenge?’ The Manama Dialogue, he said, provided a vital forum in which all states of the region and beyond could develop better understanding and trust.
