Seoul, South Korea - The Asian Games slated to be held this year in Doha underscore the closing distance between Asia and the Middle East. The Middle East is Japan and South Korea's largest energy source and an increasingly vital oil supply line for China and India. These are the four biggest economies of Asia.
At one time, the Middle East was the biggest overseas construction market for South Korea and a significant destination for Bangladeshi and Filipino laborers. It is now a growing export market for both China and South Korea, and an emerging economic partner for India. China will be next. The growing role and sophistication of the Middle Eastern financial markets in Dubai, Qatar and Bahrain will be a potential source of development funds for Asia's late-comers like India, Pakistan and the Philippines. It is already a signficant financing source of finance for some countries in the Association for Southeast Asian Nations.
How can Asia's economy prosper if the Middle East is in flames? Some stability is needed. All those petro-dollars funnelled to the Middle East can sufficiently finance the reconstruction of Lebanon and Iraq. Japan and South Korea have the expertise and experience to help rebuild the economies in the Middle East once big markets like Iran and Egypt stabilize.
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