Sartaj Aziz to attend 'Manama Dialogue' in Bahrain

ISLAMABAD: Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz will on Saturday visit Bahrain on a two-day visit to attend ‘The Manama Dialogue’.

The Manama Dialogue is being organised jointly by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bahrain, and a British think-tank the International Institute of Strategic Studies.

The Crown Prince of Bahrain Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa will inaugurate the event. It will be attended by ministers from several important countries, leading international opinion makers, experts, heads of organisations and international media.

Sartaj Aziz will be a keynote speaker and will present Pakistan’s perspective on prevailing and emerging security challenges facing the region and the world at large.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, French Minister of Defence Jean-Yves Le Drian, and US Secretary of Defence Ashton Carter will also address the Manama Dialogue.

Mr. Aziz is expected to hold bilateral meetings with the Foreign Minister of Bahrain Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmad Al Khalifa, and Ministers of other countries including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UK and Canada.

He will also a special meeting with the Secretary General of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Abdul Latif Rashid Al Zayani to expand the ties between Pakistan and Gulf region.

The IISS will convene the 12th Regional Security Summit: The IISS Manama Dialogue from 9-11 December 2016. It provides a forum for the national security establishments of the participating states to exchange views on regional security challenges.

The Manama Dialogue provides opportunities for government leaders to deliver vitally important public statements about the evolving policy approaches to regional security.

It facilitates private bilateral and multilateral meetings between participating states in order to advance immediate policy goals and has matured into the most important regional security meeting in the Middle East.