IISS Manama Dialogue 2026

The IISS Manama Dialogue is the annual regional security summit of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, held in Bahrain since 2004. The 22nd edition brings ministers, senior officials, military chiefs, business leaders and analysts to Manama for three days of plenary debate on the Middle East's foreign-policy, defence and security challenges, alongside bilateral meetings between governments.

Who attends

The Dialogue is built for government delegations and decision-makers: ministers, national security advisers, defence chiefs, diplomats, policymakers and senior corporate and research leaders with a stake in Gulf and wider Middle East security. Participation is managed by IISS; press attend through a separate media registration.

Programme for 2026

The outline agenda published by IISS opens on Friday 30 October with a day of bilateral meetings, two special sessions and the keynote address and opening dinner. Saturday and Sunday are given to plenary sessions and special addresses.

• Special session: The Gulf at War Dossier Launch
• Special session: Political and Security Lessons from the Iran War
• US and Middle Eastern Security Integration
• The Implications of Transformational Regional Conflict
• The Foundations of Regional Security
• Defence, Resilience and Deterrence: Pathways for Defence Doctrine
• A New Economic Agenda: From Reconstruction and Development to Prosperity
• Maritime Security at an Inflection Point
• Global Security Governance: Inclusion and Agency

Format

Plenary sessions are held at The Ritz-Carlton, Bahrain, with a delegate lunch in the Masaya Pavilion. Private corporate and Government of Bahrain lunches are by invitation only, and the summit closes with a farewell lunch for all delegates on Sunday 1 November.