The Gulf can be the link to bring people together
I read with great interest your editorial concerning Saudi Arabia’s deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman’s strong words about Iran ( Saudi Arabia’s patience with Iran is over, May 3).
As you said, and I agree, his country’s patience with Iran is wearing thin and he has put it on notice. The prince has also made another thought-provoking statement by asking: “What are the common points that we might be able to reach an understanding on with this regime?” A simple answer is the Gulf – its safety and sustainability, as it faces an interestingly risky and fragile nexus of food-water and energy resources in the future.
The shared Gulf is a lifeline for the eight countries that surround it, supporting a significant fraction of their critical resource needs. This region is one of the driest in the world and prolonged drought and population growth have increased the surrounding countries’ dependency on the Gulf for water, energy and food security. Desalination along the Gulf has exploded in recent decades in efforts to secure reliable water supplies, representing 45 per cent of the world’s desalination capacity. In 2010, the fraction of drinking water sourced from desalination of Gulf water was Qatar, 99 per cent; UAE, 95 per cent; Kuwait, 95 per cent; Bahrain, over 80 per cent; Oman, 80 per cent.
Although surrounding countries are trying to address this issue by building underground water storage reservoirs, most countries only have enough storage supply to last a few days in an emergency. The Gulf also supports irrigation water and the fishing industry, with some of the highest seafood consumption per capita rates in the world.
The Gulf is also an important economic hub for oil and gas production. In 2016, over 800 offshore platforms were located in the Gulf and more than 50,000 tankers travelled through. If the above common points are not enough for an understanding to be reached, then the following may help: the region is currently expanding its nuclear power industry significantly.
Dr Najmedin Meshkati, USA