US Defense Secretary and an Iranian lawmaker are among representatives from 25 countries to take part in a security meeting in Bahrain.

Gates, who will retain his post when president-elect Barack Obama takes office, will attend the Manama Dialogue on Friday, AFP reported.

Rapporteur of Majlis Commission on National Security and Foreign Policy Kazem Jalali will represent Iran in the meeting, according to John Chipman, director general of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, under whose auspices the conference has been held each year since 2004.

Bahrain's Foreign Minister Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmad al-Khalifa, has called for establishment of a new organization to include all countries in the region "without exception" to solve common problems.

Khalifa said that he recognizes that the US has a role in the region but said Washington "has no magic wand" to sort out the region's difficulties.

"Our firm conviction in the importance of dialogue and enhanced cooperation compelled us to propose... the establishment of a regional organization in which all countries in the Middle East and North Africa region are members without exception," the minister said.

Balance of forces in the region, the economy and security, both in a regional and global context are among the main topics to be discussed in the three-day event.

Source: Press TV, 19 December 2008