By Habib Toumi, Bureau Chief
The politics of Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia will be a major topic in the second Gulf security conference to be hosted by Manama on December 2-4, organisers from the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) have said.
The IISS Gulf Dialogue will also address in its plenary sessions GCC security links to the outside world, the US and regional security, and new types of security challenges and regional cooperation.
Break out sessions will discuss maritime security, regional military strategies, doctrine and procurement, and energy security and defence implications, the IISS statement said.
Bahrain last December hosted the inaugural IISS Gulf Dialogue which brought together the national security establishments of the Gulf Cooperation Council (Bahrain, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman), Iran, Iraq, Yemen, US, France, Russia, UK, Australia, Japan and Singapore.
India, China and Germany are expected to join all initial participants in the second conference.
The IISS Gulf Dialogue is modelled on the IISS Shangri La Dialogue held annually in Singapore since 2002, which the organisers say "has become a recognised part of the infrastructure of Asian defence diplomacy and the best available vehicle in the Asia Pacific for developing and channelling astute and effective public policy on defence and security."
The conference's plenary sessions are used by ministers and national security advisers as platforms to clarify and expand on government policy while breakout groups provide a private opportunity for professional discussions to analyse strategic issues and to advance policy aims.
On the sidelines, bilateral meetings between national security advisors and ministers allow delegation leaders privately to advance immediate policy goals.
