MANAMA: Mahmood Rafique, Editor: A strong and prosperous Gulf and the Middle East remain an illusive goal unless the Palestinian people achieve their legitimate right to an independent and sovereign state living side by side along Israel.
Dr Abdullatif Al Zayani, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bahrain told the global audience, the Ministers, defense experts, policy makers, top diplomats and participants of the IISS Manama Dialogue attending the 21st security summit held in Bahrain.
The experts, top government officials and diplomats and delegates who gathered in Bahrain to attend the IISS Manama Dialogue 2025, which held between Friday 31 October and Sunday 02 November 2025, at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Bahrain, have deliberated upon the Middle East security, challenges and possible solution to peace, cyber security and to evolve a strategy to achieve a regional stability.
The theme at the 21st IISS Manama Dialogue is “regional power and statecraft amidst global change”. The position of Middle Eastern powers during periods of geopolitical transformation is of importance to the global community. Reconfigured international power dynamics and challenged norms are assessing the ability of regional powers to adapt through the judicious use of power and statecraft as they attempt to shape their futures and influence relationships with external powers. This will be a timely opportunity to discuss these global trends to assess the trajectories of regional and extra-regional powers and to identify the implications for the Middle East.
Held annually since 2004 in the Kingdom of Bahrain, the IISS Manama Dialogue is a central element of the Middle East’s security architecture, promoting open discussion of the most pressing regional security and defence issues. This year, the IISS brings government leaders, defence officials, senior industry representatives, analysts, and media from the Middle East and beyond.
This year’s speakers, included Qasim Al Araji, National Security Adviser, Iraq; the Hon. Dr Anne Aly MP, Minister for International Development, Minister for Small Business, and Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Australia; Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Al Busaidi, Foreign Minister, Oman; the Hon. Thomas J. Barrack, Ambassador to Türkiye and Special Envoy for Syria, United States; Admiral Sir Keith Blount, Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, NATO; Ana Birchall, Former Deputy Prime Minister for Strategic Partnerships and Minister of Justice, Romania; Ruben Brekelmans, Minister of Defence, the Netherlands; the Hon. Doug Burgum, Secretary of the Interior, United States; the Rt. Hon. Yvette Cooper MP, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, United Kingdom; Javier Colomina, Special Representative for the Southern Neighbourhood, NATO; João Cravinho, Special Representative for the Sahel, European Union; the Hon. James P Danly, Deputy Secretary of Energy, United States; Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, Chairman of the Military Committee, NATO; Dr Anwar Gargash, Diplomatic Advisor to the President, Ministry of Presidential Affairs, United Arab Emirates; Georgios Gerapetritis, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Greece; Dr Najib Ghadbian, Director, Center for Strategic Studies, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Syria; Ahmad Al Hajjar, Minister of Interior and Municipalities, Lebanon; Stephen Hickey, Director, Middle East and North Africa, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, United Kingdom; Md. Touhid Hossain, Honourable Adviser for Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh; HH LIeutenant General Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, National Security Advisor, Commander of the Royal Guard, Bahrain Defence Force; Dr Constantinos Kombos, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cyprus; Pierre Krähenbühl, Director-General, International Committee of the Red Cross; Jan Lipavský, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Czech Republic; Luigi Di Maio, Special Representative to the Gulf Region, European Union; Osama Mobarez, Secretary General, East Mediterranean Gas Forum; Zaqy Mohamad, Senior Minister of State for Defence, Singapore; Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi, Federal Minister of Interior and Narcotics Control, Islamic Republic of Pakistan; Wolf-Christian Paes, Senior Fellow for Armed Conflict, IISS; Dr Manal Radwan, Minister Plenipotentiary, Head of the Negotiating Team, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Saudi Arabia; Ayman Safadi, Deputy Prime Minister; Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Jordan; Dr Asaad Hasan Al-Shaibani, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Syria; Dr Varsen Aghabekian Shahin, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Palestine; Dr Hussein Mohammad Al-Shebli, Secretary General, Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization; Jonatan Vseviov, Secretary General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Estonia; Dr Johann Wadephul, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs, Germany; Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bahrain and Dr Shaya Zindani, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Yemen.
