IISS Manama Dialogue 2019
22nd to 24th November 2019
The Ritz-Carlton, Manama, Bahrain
Should you have any queries or require further information regarding the IISS Manama Dialogue, please contact us on:
Email: Manama@iiss.org
Phone: +973 1718 1155
All times below are in AST (Arabic Standard Time, or UTC+3.) All Plenaries are on the record.
IISS Manama Dialogue 2019 Agenda
Friday 22 November 2019
19.00–20.00 Opening Televised Plenary – Al Ghazal 1 Ballroom
The New Geo-Economics of the Middle East
Sheikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa
Minister of Finance and National Economy, Bahrain
MAEDA, Tadashi
Governor, Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Japan
Professor XIANG, Lanxin
Director, Centre of One Belt and One Road Studies,
China National Institute for SCO International Exchange and Judicial Cooperation, China
Alia Moubayed
Managing Director, Jefferies Investment Bank, Lebanon
20.00–21.00 Opening Reception – Grand Foyer
21.00–23.00 Opening Dinner – Al Noor Ballroom
Held under the patronage of HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa
Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, Kingdom of Bahrain
Opening Statement by Dr John Chipman
Director-General and Chief Executive, IISS
Saturday 23 November 2019
08.25–08.30 Opening of the Summit – Al Noor Ballroom
Introduction and Welcome
08.30–09.45 First Plenary Session – Al Noor Ballroom
Regional Competition and Cooperation
Ayman Safadi
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Jordan
Florence Parly
Minister of the Armed Forces, France
Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bahrain
09.45–11.00 Second Plenary Session – Al Noor Ballroom
Defence Diplomacy and Regional Stability
Adel Al Jubeir
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Saudi Arabia
Dr Anwar Gargash
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, UAE
Sir Mark Sedwill
National Security Adviser; Cabinet Secretary, Cabinet Office, UK
11.00–11.30 Refreshment Break
11.30–12.45 Third Plenary Session – Al Noor Ballroom
Maritime Security in the Middle East
KONO Taro
Minister for Defense, Japan
Abdulkadir Abdi
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Somalia
General Kenneth McKenzie Jr
Commander, US Central Command
12.45–14.30 Private Ministerial Lunch
Lunch for all other Delegates – Masaya Pavilion
14.30–15.45 Fourth Plenary Session – Al Noor Ballroom
Managing Conflict and Stabilisation in the Middle East
Sedat Önal
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Turkey
Niels Annen
Minister of State, Federal Foreign Office, Germany
LI Chengwen
Ambassador for China-Arab States Cooperation Forum Affairs, China
15.45–16.15 Refreshment Break
16.15–17.30 Fifth Plenary Session – Al Noor Ballroom
US Policy and Alliance Relations in the Middle East
John C Rood
Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, US
Senator Chris Murphy
Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Near East, South Asia, Central Asia and Counterterrorism, US Senate
Congressman Joe Wilson
Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Middle East, North Africa, and International Terrorism,
Committee on Foreign Affairs, US House of Representatives
Sunday 24 November 2019
09.30–11.00 Simultaneous Special Sessions – Al Ghazal Ballroom
Group I: Cybersecurity: Global and Regional Challenges – Al Ghazal C
Chair: Dr Bastian Giegerich
Director of Defence and Military Analysis, IISS
Omar bin Sultan Al Olama
Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, UAE
Dr Mohamed Maliki Osman
Senior Minister of State for Defence and Foreign Affairs, Singapore
Lieutenant General Ludwig Leinhos
Chief of Cyber and Information Domain Service, Germany
Dr Greg Austin
Senior Fellow for Cyber, Space and Future Conflict, IISS-Asia
Group II: International Law and Security in the Middle East – Al Ghazal III
Chair: Dr Lynn Kuok
Shangri-La Dialogue Senior Fellow for Asia-Pacific Security (Designate), IISS-Asia
Philip Hammond
Former Secretary of State for Defence; former Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs; former Chancellor of the Exchequer, HM Treasury, UK
Jeffrey Feltman
John C Whitehead Visiting Fellow in International Diplomacy, Foreign Policy, Brookings Institution, US; former Under Secretary General for Political Affairs, UN
Sir Daniel Bethlehem
Barrister and Arbitrator, Queen’s Counsel; former Principal Legal Adviser, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, UK
Professor Dr Malik Dahlan
Chaired Professor, International Law and Public Policy, Queen Mary University; Senior Mediation Fellow, Harvard University Negotiation Task Force;
Principal, Institution Quraysh for Law and Policy, Saudi Arabia
Group III:Greyzone Warfare and Asymmetric Threats in the Middle East – Al Ghazal I
Chair: Thomas Beckett
Lieutenant General (Retd) Sir Thomas Beckett. Executive Director, IISS-Middle East
Admiral Tim Fraser
Vice Chief of the Defence Staff, UK
Vice Admiral James Malloy
Commander, US Naval Forces Central Command; Commander, US 5th Fleet, Combined Maritime Forces
Brigadier General (Retd) Maroun Hitti
Defence and Military Adviser to the President of the Council of Ministers, Lebanon
John Raine
Senior Adviser for Geopolitical Due Diligence, IISS
Group IV: Conflict and Stabilisation in the Middle East – Al Ghazal II
Chair: Emile Hokayem
Senior Fellow for Middle East Security, IISS
SUZUKI Keisuke
State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Japan
Dr Denise Natali
Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Conflict and Stabilisation Operations, Department of State, US
Rudiger König
Director-General, Crisis Prevention, Stabilisation, Peacebuilding and Humanitarian Assistance, Federal Foreign Office, Germany
11.00–11.30 Refreshment Break
11.30–13.00 Concluding Plenary Session – Al Noor Ballroom
Navigating Geopolitical Change: The Middle East in the Global Context
Dr Kori Schake
Deputy Director-General, IISS
John Raine
Senior Adviser for Geopolitical Due Diligence, IISS
Emile Hokayem
Senior Fellow for Middle East Security, IISS
Hasan Alhasan
Associate Fellow, IISS-Middle East
Dr Bastian Giegerich
Director of Defence and Military Analysis, IISS
13.00–14.30 Farewell Lunch for all Delegates – Masaya Pavilion