prince saud to open security conference

The two-day conference, the first of its kind to be hosted
by the Institute of Diplomatic Studies (IDS) in Riyadh, will be rich in
political and security content with focus on the role of the member states of
the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in the changing regional and international
landscape.
“This two-day conference, which comes a fortnight before the
GCC summit meeting in Riyadh, will debate a range of important issues related
to Gulf security and the region at large,” said Prof. Abdulkarim H. Al-Dekayel,
IDS director general, here Thursday. This high-profile political event,
Al-Dekhayel said, was being organized by the IDS, a diplomatic institute of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and the UAE-based Gulf Research Center (GRC).
An elite panel of speakers who will speak at the conference
include Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz, chief of General Intelligence; Abdul Latif
Al-Zayani, GCC secretary-general; Abdullah Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the UAE’s
foreign minister; Mohammed Ibrahim Alhulwah, member of the Shoura Council;
Abdulrahman Al-Akkas, former minister of social affairs; Dr. Naser Al-Ani,
chief of staff for Iraq’s Presidency Council; Abdullah Al-Shayeji, chairman of
the American Studies at Kuwait University; and Claudio Bisogniero, deputy
secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Those who will address the conference on the second day
include Prince Turki Al-Faisal, chairman of King Faisal Center for Research and
Studies; Ali Al-Naimi, minister of petroleum and mineral resources; Dr Nasser
Ibrahim Al Kaud, deputy assistant secretary general for economic affairs at
GCC; Abdulkhaleq Abdullah, a professor of Emirates University; Shiv Shankar
Menon, national security advisor of India; Bilahari Kausikan, deputy foreign
minister of Singapore; Dr Ye Qing of Shanghai Institute for International
Studies; Majid Abdullah Al-Moneef, Shoura Council member; Dr Baqer Suleman
Al-Najjer, former member of Shoura Council of Bahrain and Dr. Anwar M. Al
Rawas, Sultan Qaboos University of Oman.
Referring to the important topics to be discussed by the
panelists, the IDS chief pointed out that “the results of the discussions at
the conference will be rich and important, given the importance and status of
the participants.” He said the Kingdom, which would chair the next session of
the GCC, had been a major player at regional and international levels. “The
conference would also address the issues and the challenges confronting the
Gulf states,” said Dr. Abdulaziz Sager, GRC chairman.
Sager pointed out that a number of delegates and government
officials besides prominent experts in security and political fields will
participate in the 10 sessions of the conference staggered over two days. He
said some of the topics to be taken up for discussions include political
changes and their implications in the region, the regional security
environment, global shifts of power and the role of traditional and emerging
powers. The panelists will also talk about the future outlook and prospects of
the global energy market.