Senior government ministers to headline Security Summit

Mid-East Uncategorized

The International Institute for Strategic Studies has announced the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kuwait will open its Regional Security Summit in Bahrain.

The Manama Dialogue will run from 11 to 13 December 2009.

Select government delegation leaders include:

Bahrain – Sh Khalid Bin Ahmed Bin Mohamed Al Khalifa, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Canada – General Walter Natynczyk, Chief of the Defence Staff, Department of National Defence
France – Bernard Kouchner, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs
Germany – Christian Schmidt, Parliamentary State Secretary
India – M K Narayanan, National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister
Iran – Manouchehr Mottaki, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Iraq – Hoshyar Zebari, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Iraq – Shirwan Al Waeli, Minister of State for National Security Affairs
Iraq – Dr Barham Saleh, Prime Minister, Kurdistan Regional Government
Japan – Kazuya Shimba, Senior Vice Minister for Defence
Kuwait – Sh Dr Muhammad Al Sabah Al Salem Al Sabah, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs
Pakistan – Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Russian Federation – Mikhail Margelov, Chairman, Committee for Foreign Affairs, Federation Council; Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation on Sudan
Singapore – Lieutenant General Desmond Kuek Bak Chye, Chief of Defence Force, Singapore Armed Forces
Turkey – Vecdi Gönül, Minister of National Defence
United Arab Emirates – HH Sh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs
UK – Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope, First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff, Royal Navy
US – Admiral (Retd) Dennis C Blair, Director of National Intelligence
US – General David Petraeus, Commander, Central Command (CENTCOM)
Yemen – Ali Muhammad Al Anisi, Chairman, National Security Agency and Head, Presidential Office

Other government delegations are still confirming which Minister will attend.

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.

Regional delegations will include Afghanistan, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan, 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, the United Kingdom and the United States. The Manama Dialogue consists of television debates and programmes, formal policy addresses, break-out groups, private bi-lateral meetings, ministerial lunches and press conferences.

Participation in the IISS Manama Dialogue requires advance registration. For further information on providing press coverage, requesting interviews or receiving information, please see our website at www.iiss.org/manama-dialogue or contact our press department via email: dialoguepress@iiss.org.