The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) will bring together 27 official government delegations led by defence ministers and other senior officials from the Asia Pacific region and wider security community to participate in the 7th IISS Asia Security Summit, The Shangri-La Dialogue, to be held from 30 May to 1 June 2008 in Singapore.
The 2008 Shangri-La Dialogue will draw together the highest concentration to date of policy-makers involved in regional security, and delegations will once again comprise a measured blend of defence ministers, national security advisors, and military and intelligence chiefs.
High-level delegations mainly minister-led are already confirmed from: Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Canada, China, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Russia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, UK, USA and Vietnam.
05 May 2008: IISS Press Release
Top Government Delegations Prepare for 7th IISS Asia Security Summit, The Shangri-La Dialogue
Defence Ministers and Senior Officials to Engage over Key Asian Security Issues
The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) will bring together 27 official government delegations led by defence ministers and other senior officials from the Asia Pacific region and wider security community to participate in the 7th IISS Asia Security Summit, The Shangri-La Dialogue, to be held from 30 May to 1 June 2008 in Singapore.
The 2008 Shangri-La Dialogue will draw together the highest concentration to date of policy-makers involved in regional security, and delegations will once again comprise a measured blend of defence ministers, national security advisors, and military and intelligence chiefs.
High-level delegations mainly minister-led are already confirmed from: Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Canada, China, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Russia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, UK, USA and Vietnam.
Convened in the 50th anniversary year of the IISS, this security summit will help to shape the inter-governmental debate between the states of the Asia-Pacific and the major outside powers on the key security issues facing the region. The Dialogue also provides a forum for legislators, analysts, academics and businesspeople to engage with senior officials in a manner that animates fresh policy thinking and innovative solutions to global challenges.
On-the-record events at the 2008 SLD include a keynote address, six plenary sessions, and press conferences. Off-the-record break-out groups allow delegates to focus on more sensitive subjects in depth. Issues to be addressed at the plenary sessions include: Challenges to Stability in the Asia-Pacific; The Future of East Asian Security; Making Defence Policy in Uncertain Times; Securing Energy in the Asia Pacific; Restoring Peace in Complex Emergencies; and Modes of Security Cooperation: Confidence-Building, Partnerships, Alliances.
The Shangri-La Dialogue remains the wider Asia-Pacific region’s only regular meeting for defence ministers and is both open and transparent. It brings to the public eye issues that are normally closely held by security institutions and by doing so has contributed to regional confidence building. In previous years, the Dialogue has seen proposals submitted for greater maritime security cooperation in the Malacca Straits, new bilateral relationships, and the establishment of a regional disaster and humanitarian relief centre.
Attendance and participation is by invitation only and requires advance police screening. For information on providing press coverage or to receive additional information, please contact dialoguepress@iiss.org. Media accreditation will not be possible after 9 May 2008 owing to strict security requirements.
For more information on country participation, the complete agenda, press policy and the history of the Shangri-La Dialogue, please visit: http://www.iiss.org/conferences/the-shangri-la-dialogue.
Go to Shangri-La Dialogue homepage
About The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS)
The IISS is an international membership organisation based in London, and is both a limited company in UK law and a registered charity. It has offices in the US and in Singapore that operate under its name with charitable status in each jurisdiction. Founded in 1958, much of the Institute’s early work focused on nuclear deterrence and arms control, and the Institute was influential in setting the intellectual structures for managing the Cold War. Over the last decade the IISS has become a truly global organisation, with individual and corporate members in over one hundred countries. The Institute’s high-profile publications are universally regarded as providing the best independent, internationally sourced information and commentary on the main strategic events touching on national, regional and global security. The IISS owes no allegiance to any government, or to any political or other organisation. The Institute's conference activities are considered to be at the forefront of public policy development, given that its convening power is such that it can often bring government officials and others together in forum that they could not easily manage for themselves.
