The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) takes pleasure in presenting this report, a summary of the proceedings of the Third IISS Regional Security Summit: The Manama Dialogue. The inaugural meeting of this now established institution for regional security diplomacy was held in December 2004, and the second summit convened in December 2005. The IISS decided on the occasion of the third summit to incorporate the name of the capital of the Kingdom of Bahrain, Manama, into the Dialogue title in recognition of the continued support of the Kingdom of Bahrain to this security summit.
The Manama Dialogue is intended to provide a forum for the national security establishments of the participating states to exchange views on regional security challenges. The IISS has no agenda of its own in convening this summit other than to create the occasion at which multilateral diplomacy can do its work. This report naturally only seeks to summarise the arguments made in the on-the-record plenary sessions and the thrust of the discussions in the off-the-record break-out groups.
In publishing this report the IISS hopes to draw attention to the challenges and opportunities in the region as perceived by those most responsible for its security. The IISS has incorporated into its own future research programme more forensic analysis of regional sectarian divisions, planned new work on regional maritime security and considered fresh assessments of the evolving regional balance of powers as a result of the issues raised at the 2006 Manama Dialogue summit.
The IISS is delighted to report that in February 2007 it signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Kingdom of Bahrain that permits and facilitates the holding of the Manama Dialogue annually through to 2011. We thank the Kingdom of Bahrain for its gracious support. The institutionalisation of the IISS Regional Security Summit: The Manama Dialogue will be an excellent anchor for regional security diplomacy.
Dr John Chipman CMG
IISS Director-General and Chief Executive
