Amidst wild claims that the world has only up to 2030s to prevent civilization’s collapse due to global warming and climate change, it is puzzling that Biden proposed the construction of an oil pipeline from the Middle East to Europe to cement continued use of fossil fuel, and accompanying CO2 emissions many decades into the future. Again, Biden did not propose harnessing the abundant solar energy in the Middle East’s deserts and transferring it to Europe, if the promise of green solar energy is to be taken seriously…

Africa is the fastest-growing energy market in the world. The continent is on the verge of geometric economic growth, but until recently, almost 1.5 billion people had no access to domestic electric power. Various investments, initiatives, and projects by Russia, China, and other nations now vie for top positions geostrategically and economically. At a plenary session of Russian Energy Week in October, President Vladimir Putin stressed the necessity for Russia to ensure energy security on the old continent…

On November 3, 2023, the10th Anniversary Summit of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) was held in Astana. The event was attended by the heads of the OTS member states and the leaders of the OTS observer states. President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev welcomed the leaders of the OTS member states (Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan) and the OTS observer countries (Turkmenistan and Hungary). As we all know, Turkey was the only internationally recognized Turkic state in the world before the collapse of the Soviet Union. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991…

It is a hard question to answer, and it is more than just conjecture, at least depending upon on how long the carnage and destruction continues before our very eyes. There is much too riding on it; a real power struggle between blocs is going on in the region. Who emerges victorious will redefine the world into new centers of control.  The World Order as we have come to know it is on the verge of collapse, and Israel may now…

On October 10 Mongolia’s president, Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh, landed in Paris. Upon arrival, as he stepped onto the boarding ramp he was formally welcomed by the French Ambassador to Mongolia, the Mongolian Ambassador to France and the French Minister of Energy. On October 11, the Mongolian president had a meeting with the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo. Among the matters they touched on during their meeting were a number of the most pressing issues affecting Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia’s capital…

The modern world is on the path towards the formation of a new world order, and the alignment and role of many countries will change, with some developing countries becoming developed nations and others taking their place, while yet others are highly likely to disappear entirely. Unfortunately, just like hundreds of years ago, our world is far from just and is still plagued by the struggle for resources, which are inevitably monopolized by the strong to the detriment of the weak. Sadly, force continues to determine what is right. As David Hurst, co-founder and editor-in-chief of Middle East Eye writes on this subject, “The old world…

Current events in Yemen are a stark reminder of the explosive fragility of the truce between the government and the Houthi rebels. Although the truce has been unofficially maintained since April 2022, it is on shaky ground as neither the government nor the Houthis have yet been able to fulfill commitments made to the UN last year.Violence is escalating without any discernible progress toward a ceasefire or political solution, and at the same time the economy is collapsing and the humanitarian crisis is deepening. The unofficial truce has not translated into a formal ceasefire…

After months of political negotiations and four days of voting, Iraq’s parliament has finally approved the largest budget in the country’s history. The draft bill for the 2023 document was initially approved by the cabinet and received the green light from the legislature in June 2023. Experts believe that the planning and swift approval of this financial plan represents a telling achievement of the country’s current administration. The adopted budget amounts to a staggering 198.91 trillion Iraqi dinars, equivalent to US $153 billion. However, it has a deficit of 64.36 trillion dinars. Projected oil revenues are estimated at 117.25 trillion dinars…

Very much like the rest of the world, Africa is changing. China, as a major investor in Africa, is one such source of change. But a recent surge in the investment made by the Gulf states has also started to leave its impact on Africa’s politics and economy. To the extent that Gulf states – especially, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – are trying to diversify their economies, Africa has become a major destination of their immense wealth. Africa’s untapped natural resources are an attractive – and lucrative – site for Gulf states, but in their struggle for influence and to expand their geopolitical reach, Africa is also a landmass that these states…

It is ironic that the Druzhba pipeline, whose name means “friendship” in Russian, is so full of contention—not just crude oil.  Was this an organized leak or not, and what would happen, if it stopped flowing entirely, including the direct and indirect consequences? Regardless, that is a moot point.  It is not as if Germany already has enough problems resulting from closing ranks with the US over Ukraine. It has been willing to put its own energy security and economy on the front line…

From July 16 – 18 this year, the Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida traveled to three of the Arab Gulf states – the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait. It was his first trip to the region – which is of growing strategic importance to all the major participants in the current stage of the great game of global geopolitics – since he took up office in autumn 2021. Despite all the talk about the need to replace the current “carbon-based” economy, which is dependent on the burning of hydrocarbon fuels, with a so-called “green” economy, the main global powers are as interested as ever in securing…

Turkey and Iran continue to be important Middle Eastern nations. Due to their geographical proximity, imperial past, violent rivalry, theological tensions (between Sunnism and Shiism), and, of course, the continuous divergence of geopolitical interests, both nations have a rich history of relations. There were multiple Turkish-Persian clashes and wars, with various interruptions and varying degrees of success, during the Ottoman and Persian empires. Regarding the significance of the harem in the Ottoman Empire, historians have observed that…