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Russia’s Growing Economic Ties with the Middle East

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Russia’s Growing Economic Ties with the Middle East

GIS,

5 min read
5 take-aways
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What's inside?

Economic deals underpin the geopolitical alliances between Russia and the Middle East.

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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Innovative
  • Eye Opening
  • Background

Recommendation

Russia’s role in the Syrian conflict overshadows news about its growing financial and economic links to the Middle East. Beginning in 2015, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and other countries in the region have been making billions of dollars of foreign direct investments in Russia. At the same time, Russia has been busy expanding energy projects in the Middle East. According to this brief but insightful article from energy economist Carole Nakhle, long-term geopolitical ties are multiplying between parts of the world that were once rivals. getAbstract recommends this eye-opening report to policy makers, energy economists and corporate executives.

Summary

The United States and the European Union forced economic sanctions on Russia in 2014 in response to its takeover of Crimea, choking off Russian access to capital markets. Oil prices collapsed soon afterward, landing a sharp blow to the Russian economy, which is highly dependent on oil and natural gas production. However, Russia proved itself unexpectedly impervious to these setbacks. A 2016 report by the International Monetary Fund noted that the Russian recession was not historically deep and credited the government’s structural reforms, including “a flexible exchange rate ...

About the Author

Carole Nakhle is an energy economist and the founder and CEO of Crystol Energy, a London-based consultancy.


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    A. C. 2 years ago
    It would be interesting to see how this article holds up in light of recent events and how the ties between these countries have developed in the past few years.