AMMAN (AFP) - Nobel laureates and celebrities including the Dalai Lama and actor Michael Douglas are to gather in Jordan in June to discuss ways of dealing with some of the world's most intractable problems.

The June 20-21 conference, the second of its kind, will discuss challenges to global security such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and how the gathering can respond to humanitarian emergencies around the globe.

"For more than 100 years, Nobel laureates have represented excellence in the pursuit of humanity's advancement," said King Abdullah II, co-organizer of the event along with Nobel Peace laureate Elie Wiesel.

The conference will "carry forward our promise to this and future generations to address the inequalities, asymmetries and threats to peace that abound," a statement quoted Abdullah as saying.

Other dignitaries include former South African president Frederik W. de Klerk, East Timorese Foreign Minister Jose Ramos-Horta and the founder of the Doctors Without Borders charity, Bernard Kouchner.

The conference will take place amid centuries-old rose-colored ruins of Petra, a World Heritage Site some 200 kilometres (125 miles) south of the capital Amman.