Bahrain government has appointed its parliament speaker Khalifa al-Dhahrani to lead the national dialogue that will 'accelerate the pace of reform towards development in various fields,' the state news agency said.

Al-Dhahrani, speaker of the Council of Representatives, said he hoped to bring 'all parties concerned with matters of the state' into the dialogue.

The talks would 'accelerate the pace of reform towards further development in various fields that will meet the expectations of all citizens,' Bahrain News Agency cited him as saying on Saturday.-Reuters