THE keynote speaker at the Middle East’s premier foreign policy, defence and security summit to be held in Bahrain next month has been announced.
His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, will deliver the address to mark the opening of the 19th edition of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Regional Security Summit: The Manama Dialogue 2023, which will be held from November 17 to 19 at The Ritz-Carlton Bahrain.
The dialogue will bring together foreign and defence ministers, national security advisers, military leaders and senior defence officials, as well as business leaders and security experts from across the Middle East, Europe, North America, Africa, Asia and beyond, to discuss critical security challenges.
“Conflict, confrontation and geopolitical competition are persistent features of the Middle East’s foreign policy and security landscape,” said IISS-Middle East executive director Sir Thomas Beckett.
“As the rules-based order faces challenges from emerging and revisionist powers, Middle Eastern nations are determining their strategic alignment in a multipolar world.”
Sir Thomas said the Comprehensive Security Integration and Prosperity Agreement (C-SIPA) signed last month between Bahrain and the US – the first of its kind in the Middle East – “offers an example of a reinforced bilateral relationship, one that the US may hope to see adopted more widely.
“Having navigated regional economic, security and pandemic challenges, HRH Prince Salman’s views on ways to ameliorate the Middle East’s security environment, while enhancing trade, investment and development, will be welcome and timely.”
HRH Prince Salman delivered the keynote address at the 2014 summit, where he urged the international community to combat ‘evil theocrats’ in a bid to eradicate the spread of jihadist ideologies in the region.
Held annually since 2004 in Bahrain, the forum is a central element of the Middle East’s security architecture. It enables national leaders, ministers and policymakers from the Middle East, North America, Europe, Africa and Asia to gather together to discuss the most pressing regional security issues and to share policy responses.
This year’s annual security summit is expected to host more than 450 delegates from more than 40 nations.
The outline agenda states that the forum starts on November 17 with bilateral meetings between visiting ministers and government officials, followed by an opening dinner featuring the keynote address.
On the following day, there will be four plenary sessions aimed at tackling different issues including ‘US policy in a changing Middle East’, ‘Regional diplomacy and de-escalation’, ‘Navigating global competition’, and ‘Capabilities and strategy’.
The final day of the security conference will feature two special sessions that will focus on ‘Addressing regional conflicts’ and ‘The new politics of energy security’.
The concluding plenary session will focus on ‘New forms of strategic co-operation’.
The Young Leaders Programme featuring Middle East and North Africa’s brightest young strategic thinkers will be held on the sidelines of the three-day summit.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivered the keynote address during the opening of the Manama Dialogue 2022.
His Majesty King Hamad’s representative for humanitarian work and youth affairs and National Security Adviser Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa also delivered a speech at the last summit.
sandy@gdnmedia.bh
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