There’s an old saying in the halls of diplomacy: there are no friends, only those that share the same interests. This famous adage, a paraphrase of the legendary British statesman Henry Temple, is perhaps nowhere more true than in the Middle East.
As alliances are constantly formed around the world, one of the many downsides of this dynamic is the fragile nature of bilateral agreements. Many of the agreements reached are mere temporary alliances that achieve a short to medium term goal and then disintegrate. At best, the once hailed “partnership” becomes an empty legality, a signed piece of paper without any real-world manifestation. At worst, antagonism between the parties can re-emerge, nullifying any progress made.
However a more robust, intertwined and successful alternative for prosperity exists through shared economic development and entrepreneurial partnership.
There is one simple reason for this for this phenomenon. In the rapidly changing Middle East, political interests can turn on a knife’s edge. What were shared goals a moment ago, can quickly become irrelevant to one or both sides of a diplomatic deal. In some cases, one country’s interests can even take an about-face, making what was once the locus of cooperation now the basis for conflict. Regional countries must proceed with stronger, more substantial alliances where commercial and business ties can legitimately thrive over the long term.
The seeds of a truly harmonized and flourishing Middle East must be planted now in our region’s youth who will create the technological and commercial underpinnings of our future. Software development, water, cleantech and renewable energy are crucial foundations to our region’s future and have, until now, been largely neglected.
Our road to prosperity began decades ago. Relations between Israel and its two neighbors Egypt and Jordan, who solidified formal ties with the Jewish state in 1979 and 1994 respectively, serve as pertinent case studies as two what long term collaboration can look like.
Both Cairo and Amman have benefited tremendously from their arrangements with Jerusalem over the years. The 1979 Egyptian-Israeli peace deal formulated under the auspices of the Carter administration, began as mere cessation of hostilities between the two countries. Today, active cooperation between Egypt Israel in security, energy, manufacturing and other important domains continues to grow – this, despite major periods of political turmoil in the region. At the security level, Israel has and continues to play an important role in Egypt’s fight against jihadist groups, especially in the Sinai region. Mutual commercial activity has seen steep, upward trajectories since 2004 when a formal economic framework was codified. The annual value of these ties is currently in the hundreds of millions of dollars and projections value Israeli-Egyptian trade cooperation well over $1 billion over the next several years.
Jordans deal with Israel has proved equally if not more beneficial for the Hashemite Kingdom. The value of Jordan’s exports to Israel is estimated to be nearly $110 million and has reached $125 million in recent years. Israeli support of Jordan’s security has shown itself on multiple levels, including providing military hardware to fight terror groups threatening the region. Israel also became an energy asset for Jordan in 2016 after signing a $10 billion deal with the Jordan Electric Power Company to supply it with natural gas for fifteen years. Jordan and Israel also engage in substantial scientific cooperation. The Bern laboratory for instance, established in Switzerland last year set up an “unprecedented” opportunity for Jordanian and Israeli scientists to collaborate on solving environmental challenges.
The triad of Israeli, Egyptian, and Jordanian peace has certainly had its ups and downs over the decades. But what makes these relations so important is the attitude of the parties involved and the wealth created. From the outset, these nations were dedicated to establishing a comprehensive relationship that could generate real change for years to come – not just a temporary co-op over a fleeting issue.
The recent agreement between the United Arab Emirates and Israel, should and must be approached through a similar lens. The combined strength of UAE’s business hub, energy giant status with Israel’s world-leading innovative industries in hi-tech, medicine, defense, and more, can launch a new era for both nations. Initial estimates indicate trade between the two nations will quickly reach half a billion dollars.
Yet this deal should be viewed as part of Israel’s broader support for regional development. Israel has for years been planning the EastMed pipeline with several of its neighbors. Worth at least $6 billion, the deal will diversify Europe’s fuel sources while giving Israel, Cyprus, and Greece access to the West’s massive energy market. But the closer cooperation between these countries, triggered mainly by Israel’s discovery of natural gas fields off its coast in 2010, is by no means limited to energy endeavours. Both Greece and Cyprus have seen widespread military and security cooperation with Israel for years with commerce and tourism flourishing in the past three years. Critical infrastructure project are also underway.
Economic cooperation has also allowed Israeli water technology and desalination plants to bring life to the most parched corners of the Middle East. But more granular cooperation is needed in the region to properly cement our ties and bridge the divide on a social level. In particular, the youth of the Middle East deserve a bright future based on technological innovation and mutual cooperation. With the right programs and facilities in place, we can create a region-wide technology ecosystem that will grow our economies – and societies – into more stable and prosperous ones. Regional incubators, accelerators, high school hackathons and exchange programs will equip our youth with the right tools to become the next generation of business leaders and peacemakers.
While the economics will be impressive, security and prosperity are also big winners. A cohesive regional social and economic alliance first and foremost establish a bulwark against regional aggressors. Both Turkey and Iran have been growing increasingly bold in their aggressive moves in areas ranging from North Africa to the Persian Gulf. Iran has for years been exporting violence to surrounding countries, in their so-called Shia Crescent project. Turkey, in a similar but far from identical mode, has begun to lash out rather boldly under the pretense of securing energy ambitions, despite the fact that these actions have brought it into conflict with NATO allies.
Strong mutual ties rooted in commerce and enhanced through science, defense, and environmental security, can achieve unprecedented growth, deter regional aggressors, and pave the way for the emergence of a new Middle East. If business ties continue to flourish, so will our region.
