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.