Senior Minister of State for Defence and Foreign Affairs Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman visited Bahrain and spoke at the 15th Manama Dialogue from 22 to 24 November 2019. Organised by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), the annual dialogue is a key security forum for senior defence, security and foreign affairs officials from around the world to discuss security challenges in the Middle East and beyond.

While in Bahrain, Dr Maliki was hosted to dinner by King of Bahrain His Majesty Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa for all heads of delegation, and dinner by Ministry of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for International Relations Shaikh Dr Abdullah Bin Ahmed Al Khalifa. Dr Maliki also met the Commander-in-Chief of the Bahrain Defence Force Field Marshal Shaikh Khalifa Bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, National Security Advisor Major-General Shaikh Nasser Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Minister of Foreign Affairs Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmed Mohammed Al Khalifa, and Minister of Defence Affairs Lieutenant-General Abdulla Bin Hassam Al Noaimi. They affirmed the warm and friendly bilateral and defence relations between Singapore and Bahrain. Dr Maliki also expressed Singapore's appreciation for Bahrain's support for the Singapore Armed Force's deployments in support of the multinational coalition to defeat ISIS, as well as to the Gulf of Aden under the ambit of Combined Task Force 151 and Bahrain's support for our port calls.

On the sidelines of the Manama Dialogue, Dr Maliki also met Egypt's Assistant Minister of Defence Mohammed Salaheldine Hassan Ali, Germany's Parliamentary State Secretary of Defence Thomas Silberhorn and Kuwait's President of the National Security Bureau Sheikh Thamer Ali Sabah Al Salem Al Sabah, and reaffirmed our bilateral defence relations with these countries.

Besides the various bilateral meetings, Dr Maliki spoke at the Simultaneous Special Session on 24 November 2019, on the topic of "Cybersecurity: Global and Regional Challenges". He highlighted the evolving landscape of cyber threats, and stressed the need for collective responsibility and the development of internationally-accepted cyber norms to manage these emerging issues.

Singapore has been an active participant of the Manama Dialogue since its inception in 2004. The 15th Manama Dialogue was attended by more than 25 countries, including Australia, Egypt, France, Germany, Japan, Oman, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.