Free Essay On The Global Significance Of The Middle East

Middle East refers to the regions found on the south west of Asia and which extend to North Africa. Some of the countries that make up the Middle East include turkey, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan and Egypt. Deserts occupy most of the land making in the Middle East. This makes people to be clustered in oases or the river valley, where the land is productive. The global significance of the Middle East lies in its rich oil fields which are mainly in the Persian Gulf region. This wealth brought about by the existence of oil rich field places new importance on Middle East position subdued at the junction of the three continents. The presence of oil rich fields in the Middle East is important because oil is a mineral that boost the world economy. Oil provides energy which drives most of the worlds manufacturing industries. The industries; agricultural, manufacturing among other plays a vital role in rejuvenating the economy of a country.
Since 1930s, the Middle East has played a critical role, as a source of energy, and therefore, key to the stability of the global economy. About 37% of the world oil and 18% of the gas produced come from the Middle East. Middle East is a home of about 65% of the global oil reserve and 45% of its natural gas. In addition, Middle East also controls a significant amount of hydrocarbons if the U.S. Geological survey is anything to go by. The ability of the Middle East to produce large amount of hydrocarbons implies that provided the modern economy depends on the supply of supply of oil and the natural gas, then the Middle East will play a significant role in the global politics and economy. As it stands now, most of the world countries depend heavily on Persian Gulf oil. Some of the confirmed statistics shows that in 2006, the Middle East supplied about 22% of the U.S imports, 36% of OECD Europe’s, 40% of China’s, 60% of India’s, and 80% of Japan’s and South Korea’s. This means that the Middle East is the power house in terms of oil provision. However, the demand of oil is likely to rise by 2030 and hence the need for more production.
The root cause of the global significance of the Middle East lies on its strategic location and the ability of the area to produce a lot of oil. It is on record that about 40% of the global oil comes from the Middle East. Because of being rich in oil, the Middle East has attracted many countries who would like to engage and sign business ties. Oil plays a significance role in economic development. This is because oil provides energy that is used to run most of the economic development project.
Despite the Middle East having a global significance, this significance poses a lot of consequences whose implications can be very severe. For instance, as many nations continues to depend on oil, it becomes imperative for them to secure access to the Middle East. This can be achieved through building strong alliances and providing them with diplomatic support and the military aid. Many people believe that the war between the United States of America and some of the countries in the Middle East is because of the demand of oil. This has destroyed the relationship of U.S and some of the countries such as Iraq in the Middle East.
In conclusion, the Middle East is important since it immensely contribute to economic development. It strategic location enables it to supply most of the countries with oil. However, the main reason for it being globally significant is because of its ability to produce a large amount of oil.