Energy & Economy

29

Dec

Economy, Impact, Joe Biden, Middle East

The Impact of Biden’s Victory on the Middle East Economy

PEJOURNAL - With Biden elected president of the United States, some Middle Eastern countries have been locked up. Israel-U.S. relations, which were influenced by the warm relations between Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, will no longer continue under Biden, and Saudi Arabia is likely to face increased congressional oversight of the country's human rights issues. Leaders of Middle Eastern countries also know very well that Biden's vision does not necessarily have in common with their approaches. But regardless of the political consequences, the Middle East must wait for the economic gains from Biden's victory," Amjad…

Read More

20

Dec

Arab-Hebrew, Iran, Israel, normalization, railway, Saudi Arabia, Tel Aviv, UAE

Arab-Hebrew railway project

PEJOURNAL - The Peace Railway is a deliberate plan to normalize Arab-Hebrew relations by opening up economic channels and extending them to political relations that seek to marginalize the Palestinian cause. To this day, the Arab-Hebrew Strategic Alliance has been a dream come true for the region, but it seems that today, after sowing the seeds of relations with Arab countries, the Zionist regime is on the verge of celebrating unity. It is economically, security-wise, and strategically aligned with the Arabs, and has significantly advanced in the area of ​​improving political relations. The Zionist regime is gradually unveiling its most…

Read More

06

Dec

China, China Russia East Pipeline, CREP, gas, Russia

Russian Gas to Supply China through CREP from Dec 2020

PEJOURNAL - China Russia East Pipeline (CREP) started to transmit natural gas from Changling Station in Jilin to Yongqing Station in Hebei, and CREP mid-section was officially put into commercial service. This 1,110 kilometers mid-section started construction from July 2019 and finished the whole project in 518 days, to provide 27 mcm/d natural gas supply to North China and help Beijing to spend 2020’s cold winter. China Russia East Pipeline was set to supply 8 bcm of natural gas in its first year, but Gazprom and CNPC adjusted the schedule to 5 bcm in 2020. However, the underdeveloped natural gas…

Read More

21

Nov

coronavirus, Egypt, Ethiopia, Nile Dam, Renaissance, Tigray People’s Liberation Front, water security

Ethiopian armed conflict may affect Nile Dam dispute

BY: George Mikhail PEJOURNAL - The armed conflict in Ethiopia could affect the Grand Ethiopian Nile Dam (Renaissance) file and slow down construction of the dam, which Egypt sees as a big threat to its water security. The armed conflict in Ethiopia between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) has recently escalated. Tensions began to rise after the Tigray region rejected Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s decision to postpone the parliamentary elections because of the coronavirus pandemic and decided unilaterally to hold its own polls in September. On Nov. 5, Ahmed declared a wide-scale war on the…

Read More

20

Nov

China, Indo-Pacific, Influence, Powers of Persuasion, U.S.

Influence of U.S. Versus Chinese Powers of Persuasion in Indo-Pacific region

"China's Influence Is Economic, While America's Is Diplomacy and Defense” BY: RAND PEJOURNAL - U.S. policymakers and experts are focused on two central questions about long-term strategic competition between the United States and the People's Republic of China (PRC): How do we assess how well the United States is doing relative to China, and which country has more influence in the Indo-Pacific region? RAND Project AIR FORCE researchers addressed these two questions by first defining what influence means in the context of great-power competition and creating a framework to measure U.S. versus PRC influence. The result brings into focus a…

Read More

15

Nov

ASEAN, Asia-Pacific, RCEP, Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership

RCEP: The world’s largest commercial agreement and its consequences on global hegemony.

BY: Begona Arechalde PEJOURNAL - The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a project for the expansion of the free trade area in Asia and Oceania that began to be forged in 2012. After 8 years of negotiations, the ten ASEAN countries (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, that includes Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Brunei), China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand reached an agreement on November 15 that encompasses 30% of the world’s GDP and 2.1 million people. The meeting, held by videoconference due to COVID-19 safety reasons, was attended by…

Read More

15

Nov

Cyprus, East Mediterranean, Energy, energy economy, Energy Right, Energy Security, gas, Mediterranean, Oil, Turkey

Getting East Mediterranean Energy Right

BY: Nikos Tsafos* PEJOURNAL - This was a tumultuous summer in the Eastern Mediterranean. On August 12, there was a collision between a Greek frigate and a Turkish frigate as the two navies circled the Turkish survey vessel Oruc Reis. Military exercises drew in forces from the United States, Russia, and France. The United States, Germany, and NATO each tried to mediate between Greece and Turkey. The Mediterranean members of the European Union held a summit, leading French president Emmanuel Macron to tweet “Pax Mediterranea” (whatever that means). Russia offered to help lower tensions, and Greece announced a massive weapons…

Read More

14

Nov

ASEAN, China, Indo-Pacific, Mutual Defence Treaty, Quad, Quadrilateral Security Dialogue

The Quad; A Complement or Replacement for ASEAN?

BY: Gabriel Joel P. Honrada* PEJOURNAL - There are two emerging guarantors of the multilateral rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific. First is the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) between the US, Australia, Japan, and India. Second is the Association of Southeast Asian States (ASEAN). Both organisations attempt to uphold the rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific, albeit via different means. The Quad provides a tangible enforcing presence and backs up the rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific with the threat of military force. In comparison, ASEAN takes a softer approach of interaction, socialisation, and integration to preserve the same. In view of China’s…

Read More

10

Nov

agreement, Americas, Canada, Mexico, NAFTA, the United States, trade deal, USMCA

Replacing NAFTA with USMCA

BY: Jacobien van der Kleij PEJOURNAL- The 2,082 paged framework known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), went into force on the 1th of July this year and will constitute according to Trump “the best and most important trade deal ever made by the USA”. And its predecessor, NAFTA, part of Reagan's 1980 presidential campaign and signed in 1992 by Bill Clinton, will go down in history as the “US worst Trade Deal”. However, the impetus for a new trade Agreement governing a market with more than 500 million people involved, does not signal an end to trade disputes between…

Read More

10

Nov

Africa, America, Atlantic Council, China, COVID-19, EU, foreign policy, Joe Biden, Latin America, Middle East, Multilateralism, NATO, presidency, Trumpism, USA

What does Joe Biden’s presidency mean for America’s role in the world?

BY: Atlantic Council PEJOURNAL - We finally have a winner. After several days of counting votes, former Vice President Joe Biden has defeated President Donald J. Trump in the US presidential election, after the Associated Press called Pennsylvania for the former vice president on November 7.  While Biden may have to contend with a divided Congress to achieve his many domestic priorities, he will have much more power to shape US foreign policy going forward. “Under a Biden presidency, the United States will shift from a ‘with or without us’ approach to a policy that fundamentally believes the United States can achieve more when we work together with partner nations,” Jason Marczak, director of…

Read More