STRATEGY OF THE GULF COUNTRIES: SPECIAL ASPECTS OF POLICY TOWARDS CENTRAL ASIAN COUNTRIES
Keywords:
Persian Gulf, Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC), Central Asia, cooperation, energy resources, geo-economicsAbstract
The study analyzes the policies of the Arab Gulf states in the Central Asian region. Common cultural and religious traditions, solidarity with the Muslim Ummah and historical heritage provided impetus to broaden the development of cooperation be- tween the countries of Central Asia and the Arabian Peninsula after the end of the Cold War.
The Arab Gulf countries, which possess significant foreign exchange reserves, are investing in a promising region. Two of the five Central Asian states, namely Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, which occupy a key geo-economic position in the Caspian region are of the greatest economic importance for the Arab countries. The Arab states seek to expand ties with these countries in the existing regional transport corridors and in the emerging infrastructure of the Belt and Road project, and anticipate an increased significance of their role as major hubs.
The areas of economic cooperation be- tween the Arab monarchies and the countries of Central Asia include infrastructure project financing, development of hydrocarbon deposits and the banking sector, especially Islamic banking.
The agriculture and water security sphere is another area of cooperation. The
countries of the Arabian Peninsula import 60% of their food. The countries of Central Asia, in turn, are the most active food exporters in the region. Due to the geographical conditions, namely the absence of a logistics corridor directly to the countries of the Arabian Peninsula, transport problems, including guarantees of secure supplies by Central Asian countries, need to be resolved.
The social sphere is the third area of cooperation. By providing extensive financial investments, including sponsorship of large-scale educational and healthcare projects, the Arab monarchies planned to gain political solidarity from the Central Asian states. Immediately after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Gulf states established a large number of Arab religious foundations, which aimed to coming closer together with the Muslims in Central Asia through madrassas and religious education programs in the Arabian states. Of particular importance is the confrontation of the Arabian monarchies with Shi‘a Iran and relatively secular Turkey in promoting their own “visions of Islam.” After the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, the Central Asian states paid more attention to the internal stability, and cooperation with the countries of the Arabian Peninsula was reoriented to other social spheres.
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