Munich - Vice President Joseph Biden is to make a "major" speech about the new US administration's defence and foreign policy at the end of next week in Munich, the organizer of a German conference said Thursday.

Wolfgang Ischinger said the address at the annual Munich security conference would set out the position of the administration of President Barack Obama, which was why Biden was attending rather than the US defence secretary who usually represents Washington.

The meeting, which takes place with tight security because so many top officials are attending, is expected to discuss the future of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and its mission in Afghanistan as well as European energy security.

The long-running dispute with Iran over its nuclear research will also be on the agenda and Ischinger said he expected "a very senior person" from Iran to attend, but gave no names. (dpa)