Middle East: an economic battleground

 

Muhammad Abrar

5 August, 2022

 

President Joe Biden was on a Middle East visit last month, July 2022. During his visit he attended some conferences, signed agreements on Climate Change, Technology, Energy etc. This visit was very significant in terms of power politics, especially at a time when Russia and china are developing closer ties with the Middle East.

President Joe Biden had a reserved foreign policy with the Saudi Arabia in the near past. But what happened all of a sudden that it took a shift of 180 degrees and established ties with the country?  The reason is very simple: “vested interests”.

First of all, Middle East is a land of rich natural resources, with oil important of all. This factor has always caught the attention of superpowers of every time, whether it was a colonial period or the modern age. Amid Russia-Ukraine crisis, the importance of the peninsula has increased drastically as Russia has banned oil supply to Europe causing energy crisis throughout Europe. This deficiency could be, to some extent, recovered through the oil supply of the Arabian Peninsula.

Secondly, Saudi Arabia has shown an East oriented interest when Saudi Prince Muhammad bin Salman declined the telephonic conversation with Joe Biden at a time when Russia Ukraine war was going on. Meanwhile, the prince made a telephonic call with Russian president Vladimir Putin and China’s counterpart Xi Jin Ping. This has upset the American leadership as they have been convincing the Middle Eastern nations to favor resolution concerning sanctions against Russia in the UN. However, Saudi Arabia remained hesitant towards such a move.

Thirdly, defeat in Yemen and Syria along with continuous attacks of Houthis on oil reserves has caused a serious damage to Saudi Arabia. In this alarming situation the prince MBS has committed himself shifting the economy of the country from oil to global market economy. To realize this dream, the country needs to establish economic ties with regional countries. Hence, China and Russia could have a welcoming future in the country. But America is observing this as a defeat of its dominance in the global market.

Fourthly, America is debt ridden economy. According to some estimates, America owes trillions of dollars to more than 2 scores countries. Moreover, America’s face has also unleashed in destroying Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Libya in the disguise of empowering so called democracy. Whereas America has always instigated war like situation in the countries, China’s policy has a different outlook_ that is to establish economic ties with countries. Hence, China’s ties are peace-oriented while that of America are threat to life and livelihood.

To sum up, we can say that America is trying its level best to contain the growing impact of Russia and China in the global economy. The 21^st century is witnessing a shift of power from the West to the East. America has dominated the global politics since the WW2. But the recent economic rise of China has posed a vital threat to the superpower.