TRENDS Research and Advisory Participates in Korean Academic Conference Discusses Ways to Enhance Cooperation between the Middle East and East Asia

TRENDS Research and Advisory participated in the Joint Academic Conference of the Korea Association for Middle Eastern Studies and the Korea Association for African Studies in Seoul 2023. TRENDS session focused on ways to enhance cooperation between the Middle East and East Asia in the multipolar world order.

Alanoud AlHosani, a researcher at TRENDS Research and Advisory, welcomed the participants and highlighted the themes of the session. She stressed the significance of cooperation between regions in an era characterized by interdependence and indicated the need for a multipolar global order.

AlHosani identified economic cooperation, security cooperation,  and regional organizations as key pillars of cooperation between the Middle East and East Asia.

New Opportunities

Professor Muhammad Binhuwaidin, professor of political science at the United Arab Emirates University, said that the competition between the United States and China provides new opportunities for cooperation between the Middle East states and East Asia.

Prof. Binhuwaidin added that both sides seek to develop a wide network of partners to protect their interests, which creates opportunities for the countries of the two regions to benefit from their positions and achieve their interests.

Prof. Binhuwaidin explained that cooperation between the Middle East countries and East Asia can help enhance security and stability in the region, and achieve economic and social development. This could be accomplished through enhancing confidence measures and cooperation between the two regions. This would help reduce tensions in the two regions. It would boost exchange of experiences and lead to the transfer of needed technologies in vital fields, which helps achieve economic and social development, face common challenges, such as climate change and terrorism.

"Cooperation between Middle Eastern and East Asian countries is imperative in light of the competition between the United States and China. The countries of the two regions must seize this opportunity to advance their interests and achieve sustainable development,” said Prof. Binhuwaidin.

Expand collaboration

Dr. AbdelRahman Ahmed AbdelRahman, Associate Professor and Assistant Dean of Graduate Studies at the University of Sharjah, called for expanding cooperation between the Middle East and East Asia to include non-traditional areas, such as conflict resolution and management, green growth, education and culture.

Speaking at the fourth session of the conference, Dr. AbdelRahman said that intergovernmental organizations, such as the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), mostly focus on traditional areas such as energy security, counter-terrorism, foreign direct investment and trade.

Dr. AbdelRahman stressed the important role of universities and multinational companies in facilitating cooperation in these areas between the two regions. Cooperation in conflict resolution and management can help reduce tensions and promote peace and security in the region, he said. He explained that cooperation in the field of green growth can help confront climate change and protect the environment.

Dr. AbdelRahman indicated that cooperation in the field of education and culture can help build understanding and trust among peoples and promote sustainable development.

Five Solid Economic Foundations

Moza AlMarzouqi, senior researcher at TRENDS Research and Advisory, referred to expectations of a slowdown in the global economy next year. She called for enhanced cooperation between different regions of the world, especially the Middle East and East Asia, in order to promote economic growth and prosperity.

Moza’s remarks  dealt with "Strengthening Cooperation between the Middle East and East Asia in a Multipolar World". she said that there are huge opportunities for cooperation between the two regions in the fields of trade, investment, energy and security. She said that these opportunities are based on five economic foundations, namely: promoting environmentally friendly trade, encouraging investments that localize the engines of economic and social development, achieving economic security, especially energy security, and the security of global supply chains. She said that this should consider the special circumstances and the economic, political and security interests of each country in the world. She referred to the need to facilitate positive interaction with the global economy, institutions and various political, economic and environmental organizations.

Moza AlMarzouqi reviewed a range of key opportunities for fruitful cooperation between the two regions, including trade in low-carbon goods, environmentally friendly technology, trade in services and logistics, such as tourism, international logistics, port management and industrial investments. Some of these investments can be transferred from East Asia to West and North Africa. Cooperation in the fields of digital transformation and cybersecurity, and energy security is a big potential.

Moza AlMarzouqi stressed the significance of taking advantage of the above-mentioned trade and investment opportunities to strengthen mutual relations between the countries of the Middle East and East Asia. This shall leave a positive impact on the global economy and help avoid economic crises that undermine global economic growth. Such economic crises usually restrict efforts to protect the environment and hinder progress towards achieving the common development goals of the two regions.

The conference, in which TRENDS participated as a research advisory partner, was organized by the Korean Association for Middle East Studies and the Korean Association for African Studies, under the auspices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the UAE Embassy in Seoul. The sponsors included the Sookmyung Institute for Global Governance, and the GCC Institute at Hanok University. The academic event was attended by experts and researchers from universities and research centers from Arab and other foreign countries, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, Iran, Turkey, China, Japan, India, the United States and South Korea.

The first session focused on "The Multipolar World Order and the Middle East and Africa", where they discussed the impact of changes in the international system on the Middle East region. The second session dealt with the topic of "Past, Present and Future of Cooperation Mechanisms in the Middle East and Africa", where the contributors discussed the opportunities and challenges facing cooperation between the region, while the third session dealt with the issue of "Emerging Security in the Middle East and Africa", where they discussed the security challenges facing the region.