Government and experts to be quizzed on UK accession to US-Bahrain Comprehensive Security Integration and Prosperity Agreement

Giving evidence at 4:00pm will be: 

• Dr Hasan Alhasan, Senior Fellow for Middle East Policy, International Institute for Strategic Studies  
  
  
• Elizabeth Dent, Senior Research Fellow, Washington Institute for Near East Studies
  
  
• Dr David Roberts, Reader in International Security and Middle East Studies, School of Security Studies, King’s College London

Topics the Committee is likely to cover include: 

• A general overview of the agreement, including the context and background to the original negotiations.
  
  
• How the agreement fits into the wider regional security picture.
  
  
• Which countries are considered likely candidates to join the agreement.
  
  
• In what ways the agreement interacts with other initiatives to secure critical shipping lanes in the region.  

Giving evidence at 5:00pm will be: 

• Minister Luke Pollard MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for the Armed Forces), Ministry of Defence
  
  
• Minister Hamish Falconer MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan), Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
  
  
• Thomas Allan, Deputy Director for the Gulf, FCDO
  
  
• Kashif Chaudry, Head of Middle East, Security Policy and Operations Directorate, Ministry of Defence.
  

Topics the Committee is likely to cover include: 

• The background to the UK’s accession to the Agreement.
  
  
• The extent to which accession to the Agreement supports the UK’s national interests and foreign policy in the region.
  
  
• To what extent there is a commitment to mutual defence contained in the agreement, and what the security and resourcing implications are for the UK.
  
  
• Indications from the incoming US administration about their views on this Agreement and future accessions to it.
  
  
• How the UK will continue to respond to and challenge human rights abuses in the context of a cooperation agreement. 
  

The sessions will take place on Wednesday 22 January 2025 and can be followed live on Parliament TV.