More than 700 delegates from 65 countries participated in the 21st International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS) Manama Dialogue, which concluded yesterday at the Ritz-Carlton Bahrain.
The delegates this year included 28 full ministers, 24 intelligence heads, 11 deputy ministers, seven national security advisers and nine chiefs of defence.
“We’re extremely grateful to His Majesty King Hamad and His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, for their warm welcome here in the kingdom, and to the multiple government departments and agencies deployed to ensure that this dialogue was convened successfully and safely,” said IISS director-general and chief executive Dr Bastian Giegerich.
“Out of the delegates, 27 of them were young leaders from nine countries who made a great effort to push forward our debate and I’d like to thank them for it.
“We also had around 3,500 people badged into this event to support it in its various ways.”
In addition, Dr Giegerich revealed that the dialogue had been watched by more than seven million people worldwide through the IISS digital channels, and that there were ‘25 per cent more’ journalists covering the event compared to last year.
The IISS also co-ordinated 103 bilateral meetings during the dialogue, which were separate from those organised directly by various delegations.
The third day of the IISS Manama Dialogue concluded with two plenary sessions centred on ‘Maritime Security as a Regional and Global Responsibility’ and ‘Another Nuclear Age? Strategic Risk and Opportunity.’
During the sixth plenary session focused on maritime security, Cyprus Foreign Minister Dr Constantinos Kombos spoke of the challenges the country was facing and claimed that it was just ‘a matter of time’ before the Houthis targeted the Mediterranean, while highlighting how the Houthi attacks have disrupted trade and transportation in the Red Sea. The Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea are connected by the Suez Canal, which is approximately 193km long.
Singaporean Senior Minister of State for Defence Zaqy Mohamad highlighted similarities in challenges between Southeast Asia and the Middle East, including a reliance on critical sea lanes for energy, food and goods.
Due to increasing power rivalry in the South China Sea, Mr Mohamad warned that there were increasing risks of miscalculation, as well as drone and missile attacks on shipping routes. As Singapore works on linking information systems across the region to aid allies, he called for stronger international partnerships to strengthen maritime security.
The third speaker during the discussion was North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe Admiral Sir Keith Blount – the first in his position to attend the Dialogue.
He highlighted the key threats in maritime security, including piracy, migrant smuggling, human trafficking, drugs, armed smuggling, cyber risks, armed robbery, sabotage, sanctions breaking, threats to undersea infrastructure, illegal fishing, pollution, terrorism and state-on-state conflict.
Adm Blount also noted that prosecution of maritime crimes is complex, and called for building political consensus in dealing with the numerous threats.
“The sea connects us, it should not divide us,” he added. “It carries commerce, energy and, of course, a bit of risk. But with that comes opportunity.”
In the final plenary session, Nato military committee chairman Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone and Romanian former deputy Prime Minister for Strategic Partnerships and Justice Minister Ana Birchall discussed the challenges and opportunities that come with nuclear energy.
Ms Birchall presented nuclear energy as necessary and a clean source for the high energy demands required to power the future, including data centres, while Adm Dragone highlighted the importance of caution when developing nuclear energy in areas with shifting geopolitics, while noting that the GCC specifically could benefit from having nuclear reactors power cities in the future.
naman@gdnmedia.bh
&uuid=(email))