updated 1431 with speaker agenda below the fold
A major event is starting in Bahrain today and continues to Sunday. This event brings together several countries’ foreign ministers, national security personnel, analysts, academics and others who are interested in the security and stability of this region. It is the annual International Institute for Strategic Studies’ Regional Security Summit, or the Manama Dialogue for short, and I have been invited to blog it.
The countries participating have increased year-on-year, with this year garnering participation from Australia, Bahrain, China, France, Germany, India, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Pakistan, Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, UAE, UK, US, and Yemen, all under one roof, sequestered in the same location to enable these officials to conduct bi- and multi-lateral meetings behind closed doors and in open sessions in order to arrive at an understanding of what needs to be done to pour oil on the turbulent waters of this region. Where else would you gather together the highest ranking officials from normally antagonistic countries but events like this?
So what exactly is the Manama Dialogue? Well, let me borrow from their official site this explanation:
The IISS Regional Security Summit is the primary security forum for the Persian Gulf. Convened annually, it brings together all elements of the national security establishments from the countries in the region – Bahrain, Kuwait, Iran, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Yemen – with the key external powers – Australia, China, France, Germany, Japan, Pakistan, Russia, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The IISS Regional Security Summit provides a forum where the most senior authorities responsible for defence, foreign policy and security issues from the participating states can exchange views on the security challenges of the region. The inaugural meeting in 2004, and the second summit in 2005, proved that there is a need for an informal mechanism for regional security consultation involving all the relevant actors. Recent developments have demonstrated that such an institution is now a necessity.
The IISS will host the third Regional Security Summit (The Manama Dialogue) from 8–10 December 2006 in Bahrain.
Since its inception, the IISS Regional Security Summit has evolved rapidly into an essential component of the regional security apparatus, uniquely involving all the states and key personalities responsible for Persian Gulf security. The IISS has no agenda of its own in convening this summit, apart from facilitating meetings of government leaders in circumstances that they could not so easily organise for themselves. Now fully established as the primary vehicle for security diplomacy, it continues to involve government leaders at the highest levels so that regional security strategy can be developed.
See the extended summary for the IISS Regional Security Summit
The agenda for the conference is quite inclusive of a plethora of security issues faced by this region, and the plenary sessions are especially interesting:
The Manama Dialogue 2006
SPEAKER AGENDA
Ritz-Carlton Bahrain Hotel & Spa, Manama, Bahrain
Friday 8 December
All day Delegates arrive in Manama; registration
All day Bilateral Meetings between Ministers and Officials20:15 Opening Reception
21:00 – 23:00 Keynote Address and Opening DinnerHRH Prince Muqrin Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
Chief of General Intelligence, Saudi ArabiaSaturday 9 December
09:00 – 09:05 Opening of the Summit
Dr John Chipman
Director-General and Chief Executive, IISS09:05 –09:40 First Plenary Session
THE US AND THE REGIONDr Zalmay Khalilzad
Ambassador of the US to Iraq09:45 – 11:15 Second Plenary Session
REGIONAL SECURITY PERCEPTIONSManouchehr Mottaki
Minister of Foreign Affairs, IranHoshyar Zebari
Minister of Foreign Affairs, IraqSh Khalid Bin Ahmed Al Khalifa
Minister of Foreign Affairs, BahrainSh Mohammed Al Abdallah Al Sabah
Director, Citizens Services and Governmental Bodies Assessment Agency11:15 – 11:45 Coffee break
11:45 – 13:15 Third Plenary Session
ASIA’S ROLE IN THE REGIONM. K. Narayanan
National Security Adviser to the Prime Minister, IndiaYuriko Koike
National Security Adviser, JapanSun Bigan
Special Envoy to the Middle East, China13:15 – 15:00 Private Lunch for Delegation Leaders
Lunch for all other Delegates15:30 – 17:30 Simultaneous Break-Out Groups
Group I: ENERGY AND MARITIME SECURITY Chair: Professor François Heisbourg
IISS Chairman; former IISS DirectorVice Admiral David Nichols
Deputy Commander, Central Command, USVice Admiral A K Singh
Commander-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command, IndiaZainul Abidin Rasheed
Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, SingaporeGroup II: DEMOGRAPHICS, SECTARIANISM AND GULF SECURITY
Chair: Ellen Laipson
President and CEO, The Henry L. Stimson Center, USDr Saadoun Al Dulaimi
Adviser to the Prime Minister; IraqWafaa Bassim
Deputy Foreign Minister, EgyptMohammed Abdulla M Al Rumaihi
Undersecretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, QatarGroup III: SECURITY GUARANTEES AND REGIONAL STABILITY
Chair: Field Marshal The Rt Hon Lord Inge
Former Chief of the Defence Staff, UKDr John Hillen
Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs, USJean de Ponton d’Amécourt
Director, Strategic Affairs, Ministry of Defence, FranceDr Hossein Mousavian
Foreign Policy Advisor to the Supreme National Security Council; Vice President, International Issues, Center for Strategic Research, Iraq20:30 – 23:00 Reception and Dinner
Hosted by His Highness Sheikh Salman Bin Hamad Bin Isa Al KhalifaSunday 10 December
08:45 – 10:00 Fourth Plenary Session
THE SITUATION IN IRAQJawad Al Bolani
Minister of Interior, IraqMehmet Vecdi Gonul
Minister of Defence, TurkeyCarl Bildt
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sweden10:00 – 10:30 Coffee break
10:30 – 11:45 Fifth Plenary Session
EUROPE’S ROLE IN THE REGIONMaurice Gourdault-Montagne
Diplomatic Advisor to the President of the Republic, FranceRt Hon Adam Ingram
Minister of State for the Armed Forces, UKChristian Schmidt
Parliamentary State Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Germany11:45 – 12:15 Coffee break
12:15 – 13:30 Sixth Plenary Session
THE FUTURE SHAPE OF REGIONAL SECURITYMuhammad Ali Al Anisi
Chairman, National Security Agency and Head of the Presidential Office, YemenGeneral Ehsan Ul Haq
Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, PakistanDr Mowaffak Al Rubaie
National Security Adviser, Iraq13:30 – 13:45 Conclusions and Envoi
13:45 – 15:30 Closing Working Lunch for Delegation Leaders
Farewell Lunch for all other Delegates
Press Conference
Rest of afternoon Further bilaterals
Departure
As you can see, there are a lot of sessions to cover, and I will do my best to attend as many sessions as possible to learn more about the issues we are surrounded with and shall cover them as best I could.
Comments
Author
I thought my back would be okay for tonight. It’s rebelling at the moment, I’ve got a patch on it and I hope, deeply hope, that I will be able to attend this fantastic gathering. I have never experienced one of these gatherings before and am so looking forward to it… but being sane about my back is more important, I really don’t want to extend this recuperation more than the absolute necessary. I’ll let you know if I do make it.
We are also blogging this event, All of us at political grind look forward to reading your (and the other bloggers taking part in this event) analysis of the many security issues.
Hmmm…. interesting….
If this is a speech on security on the middle east, how come half of the countries arent middle eastern?…
I dunno. Ill watch this with a grain of salt…
-Ibn
For your info.
Here are the conclusions of the meeting last year.
I wonder if there will be any changes but I’m looking forward to following it. I hope your back will get better.
Author
Political Grind, likewise.
Ibn,
Thats because security in the Middle East is governed by non Middle Easterners … everyone wants to come and play ..