Inaugural Infra Security Conference commences

Manama: The inaugural Infrastructure Security Conference (Infrasec) got underway in Bahrain yesterday, as over 150 regional energy professionals and international experts gathered to address the most pertinent challenges in protecting critical energy assets.

The one-day pre-conference workshop and two-day conference is being held under the patronage of Energy Minister Dr. Abdulhussain Mirza and takes place until April 20 at The Gulf Hotel in Manama.

With the threats to safeguarding the supply and distribution of energy and petroleum-related products growing by the day, experts assessed whether regional leaders in countries endowed with natural resources could benefit from better inter-regional cooperation to ward off potential attacks.

Dr Kevin Rosner, Senior Fellow with the Institute for Analysis of Global Security, and one of the speakers today, said not only GCC governments, but all countries can learn from one another on how to better maintain and secure their own critical infrastructure (CI).

“The problem has been that efforts to learn and reflect on CI protection have been fragmented at best with often those looking for information and contacts left at a loss of where to turn,” said Rosner. 

Talking about asymmetric warfare, Rosner warned that hostile groups seeking to undermine infrastructure are already studying how to best bring it down: “Leon Trotsky probably said it best: ‘you may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you,’” added Rosner.

Keith Tupman, Former Principal Security Advisor at the Kuwait Oil Company, is among the speakers on the second day of Infrasec.  He agreed a unified front from regional stakeholders is key to improve the resilience of critical infrastructure and deter would-be attackers.

“The obvious way to improve deterrence is to present a unified front at both national and regional levels,” said Tupman, who will speak about the interoperability of maritime security assets and aerial surveillance assets in sea-facing oil and gas environments

Organised by Messe Frankfurt Middle East, Infrasec is supported by Bahrain’s National Oil and Gas Authority and the Bahrain National Gas Company (Banagas).

Ahmed Pauwels, CEO of Messe Frankfurt Middle East, said, “The dependence on energy supply throughout the Middle East makes it imperative to ensure the safe and secure distribution of these resources to keep economies running.  Infrasec addresses these issues head-on, bringing together leading international security experts and thought leaders with regional stakeholders and energy-related decision makers.”