Threats posed by nuclear power in the Middle East will be top of the agenda at a major security conference in Bahrain later this year.

Senior government officials from around the world will attend the fifth annual Manama Dialogue at the Ritz-Carlton Bahrain Hotel and Spa in December.

They will discuss the US and regional balance of power, sectarian politics, political progress, reconciliation as well as regional security and politics in Iraq.

External factors that influence security will also come under the spotlight, according to a draft agenda released by the organisers.

The list of delegates attending the three-day event has yet to be revealed, but delegations from more than 20 countries are expected to take part.

This includes all the GCC countries, the UK, the US, Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan, Australia, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Russia, Singapore and Turkey.

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, Germany's Minister of State for Europe GŸnter Gloser and Iraqi vice-president Tareq Al Hashemi were among those at last year's event.

Bahrain's Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, Interior Minister Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa and Defence Minister Dr Shaikh Mohammed bin Abdulla Al Khalifa also participated.

The International Institute for Strategic Studies, which organises the event, billed this year's gathering as the most important security meeting in the Middle East.

The Manama Dialogue provides opportunities for leaders to deliver important public statements about the evolving policies on regional security, said a statement on its website.

Private bilateral meetings will be held on the sidelines of the conference, scheduled to begin on December 12.

Bahrain will host the event until 2011. - TradeArabia News Service