26 November 2009: IISS
Senior
Ministers Make Final Preparations for 6th IISS Regional Security
Summit,
The Manama
Dialogue
Foreign,
Defence Ministers and Senior Officials to Meet at Region’s Premier Foreign
Policy Forum
The
International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) will bring together over 25
official government delegations to participate in the
6th IISS Regional Security Summit, The Manama Dialogue, to be held
11-13 December 2009 in Bahrain.
Convened
annually, The Manama Dialogue gathers all elements of the national security
establishments from the countries of the region with the key external powers. In
particular, the 2009
Dialogue will examine critical regional security issues that have a direct
impact on government policy in the Persian Gulf.
Security
dilemmas, challenges and opportunities in Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan
are likely to be at the forefront of discussion as the Manama Dialogue will be
joined by Dr Rangin Dadfar Spanta, Minister of Foreign Affairs of
Afghanistan, Hoshyar
Zebari, Minister of
Foreign Affairs of Iraq, Manouchehr Mottaki, Minister for Foreign Affairs
of Iran and
Makhdoom Shah
Mahmood Qureshi, Minister of
Foreign Affairs of Pakistan, as well as their counterparts from the GCC,
regional and international community. General David Petraeus, Commander,
US Central Command (CENTCOM), will play a
pivotal role in the Dialogue and will address regional security architecture, as
well as conduct bilateral and multilateral meetings with the chiefs of the staff
from the considerable military delegations also participating.
Regional
delegations will also include Bahrain,
Egypt, Kuwait, Jordan, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, the UAE and
Yemen. Other participants include senior government delegations from Australia,
Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Russia, Singapore and the United Kingdom. Confirmed
delegates among these participating countries comprise prime ministers, foreign
ministers, defence ministers, national security advisors, chiefs of intelligence
and chiefs of staff.
On Friday, 11
December, Al Arabiya will host a television debate on Prospects for the
Manama Dialogue in advance of the summit opening. The Manama
Dialogue will formally commence following the debate with a Keynote Address. The
programme for Saturday 12 December will include plenary sessions, to be
addressed by delegation leaders, as well as a special Dinner Address. The
Dialogue will conclude on Sunday 13 December with a series of delegate-only
off-the-record break-out groups. During the summit, private bilateral
meetings, ministerial lunches and press conferences will help to
further inter-governmental relations and foreign policy directives.
Participation
in the IISS Manama Dialogue requires advance registration. For further
information on providing press coverage or receiving information, please see our
website at www.iiss.org/manama-dialogue or contact our
press department via email: dialoguepress@iiss.org.
