A major security conference, the Manama Dialogue, opened in Bahrain at the Ritz-Carlton Bahrain Hotel and Spa (03-05 December 2010).
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered a special address at the opening dinner of the Manama Dialogue, which will be attended by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander.
More than 600 delegates representing political and business interests from around the world are attending the 3-day forum, which begins with a series of bilateral meetings.
They include prime ministers, foreign ministers, defense ministers, national security advisers and military and intelligence chiefs from more than 25 countries.
A major security operation surrounds the 3-day conference, which is organized by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, and will tackle some of the key challenges facing the region – including the future of Yemen, Iraq, military co-operation and the role of foreign powers in regional conflicts.
The meeting, billed as the “most important regional security meeting in the Middle East and an excellent anchor for regional security diplomacy”, comes as US diplomacy reels amid a storm of anger from governments scrutinised in State Department cables published by WikiLeaks.