Manama: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki will be in the same hall in Manama in December as they lead the delegations of their respective countries at an international security conference in the Bahraini capital.
Turkey's foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu and his British counterpart, William Hague, will also attend the three-day Manama Dialogue, Bahrain's foreign minister has said.
"We are looking at an outstanding forum in the presence of such illustrious names alongside other senior officials," Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmad Al Khalifa said. "There will be significant debates on the major issues in the region as well as the US role in the area," the Al Bilad daily quoted him as saying. Although Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, twice attended the forum in 2007 and 2008 in a clear indication of the importance the US is attaching to the annual security conference, no US secretary of state has ever taken part.
The Manama Dialogue, to be held December 3 to 5, is co-organised by Bahrain's foreign ministry and London's International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). It brings together senior political and security officials from several countries, including the US, Britain and Iran.
In December 2006, then secretary of state Condoleezza Rice was scheduled to attend, but eventually stayed home to deal with the unexpected repercussions of the Baker-Hamilton report on Iraq.
Last month, Mottaki, who gave speeches at the forum in 2006 and 2009, confirmed that he would be attending.
