London, May 6 (ANI): The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) will bring together 27 official government delegations led by defence ministers and other senior officials from the Asia Pacific region and wider security community to participate in the 7th IISS Asia Security Summit, The Shangri-La Dialogue, to be held from May 30 to June 1, 2008 in Singapore.

The 2008 Shangri-La Dialogue will draw together the highest concentration to date of policy-makers involved in regional security, and delegations will once again comprise a measured blend of defence ministers, national security advisors, and military and intelligencehiefs.

High-level delegations mainly minister-led are already confirmed from:Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Canada, China, France, India,ndonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Russia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, UK, USA and Vietnam.

Convened in the 50th anniversary year of the IISS, this security summit will help to shape the inter-governmental debate between the states of the Asia-Pacific and the major outside powers on the key security issues facing the region. The Dialogue also provides a forum for legislators, analysts, academics and businesspeople to engage with senior officials in a manner that animates fresh policy thinking and innovative solutionso global challenges.

On-the-record events at the 2008 SLD include a keynote address, six plenary sessions, and press conferences. Off-the-record break-out groups allow delegates to focus on more sensitive subjects in depth. Issues to be addressed at the plenary sessions include: Challenges to Stability in the Asia-Pacific; The Future of East Asian Security; Making Defence Policy in Uncertain Times; Securing Energy in the Asia Pacific;

Restoring Peace in Complex Emergencies; and Modes of Security Cooperation: Confidence-Building, Partnerships, Alliances.

The Shangri-La Dialogue remains the wider Asia-Pacific region's only regular meeting for defence ministers and is both open and transparent.

It brings to the public eye issues that are normally closely held by security institutions and by doing so has contributed to regional confidence building. In previous years, the Dialogue has seen proposals submitted for greater maritime security cooperation in the Malacca Straits, new bilateral relationships, and the establishment of a regional disaster and humanitarian relief centre. (ANI)