2006 IISS Manama Dialogue Summary

THE MANAMA DIALOGUE
THE PRIMARY SECURITY FORUM FOR THE GULF

The IISS Manama Dialogue 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 Manama Dialogue 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.

Origins
In organising the Manama Dialogue, the IISS was moved by the following considerations:
Firstly, the heads of state, and many different ministers of the six members of the Gulf Co‐operation Council (GCC) meet regularly. (The members are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.) However, GCC security consultations, quite understandably, do not involve non‐member states. In particular, they do not involve the security establishments of Yemen, which borders a number of GCC states, nor of the two large countries to the east and north: Iran and Iraq.
Stable relations between these nine countries would form the basis of regional security, hence the formula that the IISS adopted, ‘six plus one plus two’, that inspired our invitations to the relevant regional national security establishments to attend the inaugural 2004 Gulf Dialogue.
Secondly, a number of countries from outside the Gulf have key security relationships with regional states, and also have diplomatic and economic roles that intimately affect the shape of regional stability.
In order to ensure that the regional perspective is understood by external powers and that their policies can be explained to the region, in the region, we extend invitations to Australia, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Pakistan, Russia, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Thirdly, security diplomacy is not the preserve of any single ministry: national security advisers, defence, interior and foreign ministers all have a role, as do intelligence chiefs. To limit invitations to any one agency would not permit a rounded discussion of regional security challenges. Hence our determination to organise this event as a summit meeting of the national security establishments of the participating states.

Unique Format
The strength and appeal of the Manama Dialogue lies in its unique format. The Manama Dialogue is designed as four events rolled into one.
Firstly, the plenary sessions offer a public platform for ministers and national security advisers to clarify and expand on government policy before an expert audience that includes parliamentarians, leading opinion formers from all participating countries, former government officials and carefully selected media representatives, thus informing and refining the quality of wider public debate on Gulf security.
Secondly, the break‐out groups, attendance at which is restricted to delegation members only, provide an opportunity for officials and experts to analyse pertinent strategic issues more deeply and to advance policy aims in a private and strictly off‐the‐record environment.
Thirdly, in what is perhaps the most politically useful element of the summit, there is the opportunity for the participating ministers and security officials to gather discreetly and privately for bilateral and multilateral meetings in order to advance immediate policy goals.
Fourthly, the multilateral lunches and dinners help to cultivate the sense of a defence and security community where shared interests can be protected and advanced.

Delegations
The numerous opportunities for security consultations provided by the Manama Dialogue are exemplified by the sheer breadth of the attending delegations, which are drawn from the entire spectrum of national security establishments. Over the first two years of the Dialogue, participating countries have been represented by vice‐presidents, deputy prime ministers, defence ministers, foreign ministers, national security advisers, directors of intelligence organisations, as well as chiefs of defence staff and senior military commanders.
The summit, lasting for three days, has been specifically designed to offer unparalleled opportunities for bilateral and multilateral meetings between delegation leaders. The Manama Dialogue thus offers a unique opportunity for private policy relevant meetings to advance regional security understanding.
Participating states have acknowledged the value of the Dialogue format by continuing to send high‐level delegations: in its first two years, the Manama Dialogue has drawn 30 ministers or cabinet‐level officials from the participating countries and several delegations continue to lead with multiple ministers, all accompanied by senior officials. These ministers have expressed a desire to see the summit established as a key part of the defence and security infrastructure of the Gulf region.

Themes
Issues to be addressed at the plenary sessions of the 2006 Dialogue include: The US and Gulf Security; Regional Perceptions of Gulf Security; The Gulf and Europe; The Situation in Iraq; The Gulf and the East; and Iran and the Outside Powers. The break‐out sessions will address: Energy and Maritime Security; Demographics, Sectarianism and Gulf Security; and Security Guarantees and Regional Stability.
Delegation leaders attending the 2006 Manama Dialogue will have the opportunity, both in public and in private sessions, to advance policy issues on the key regional security challenges.

Conclusion
Since its inception, the IISS Manama Dialogue 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.

The 2006 Manama Dialogue takes place on 8–10 December in Manama, Bahrain. Political Grind will be working with the IISS in providing information, analysis, and interviews of the security summit.

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