CC BY
14
M. Savushkina,
political scientist
RUSSIA AND THE ARABIC WORLD: COOPERATION AND ANTAGONISMS
The Middle East and the Arab world were and will always be the zones of the vital Russian interests. In other words, our country is interested in the armed forces lack of the third countries in this region and also the lack of the nuclear weapon and its delivery means there. During the USSR existence the most part of Magrib's and Mashrik's countries including Egypt were financed by the USSR and also defense and technical materials. The soviet specialists took the active part in the industrial infrastructure building of the Arab countries but the soviet military personnel actively participated in some combat operations on the side of the Arab allied regimes.
The ideological ties between the USSR and the organizations in the Arab region especially in the South Yemen, Egypt, Iraq, Alger, Libya, Syria and other countries sympathized with the USSR promoted the soviet-Arab relation developing. It's also necessary to remember about the cultural and the scientific cooperation. The USSR actively supported the Arab countries fight for independence. The Soviet government refused to recognize England's mandate for Iraq, Palestine and Trans-Jordan but France's mandate for Syria and Lebanon. The Soviet Union was the first to declare about the Saudi Arabia's recognition having noted that the diplomatic relations between them are normal. Besides, the USSR and the Arab world were economically tied. So, the powerful hydropower complex As-Saura built with the help and assistance of the USSR on the river Euphrates is called as Syria's pride.
After the USSR's dissolution the relations with the given region were becoming worse. The foreign-policy course of Russia's leadership directed at exaggerated development of a cooperation with
the West brought to the new barriers on the way of the Russian - Arab cooperation. The cooperation between Russia and the Arab countries was slackened; there were the great changes in the development of these countries having brought to the knowledge lack of tax, tariff, legal and other aspects of the Arab legislation. So, at the present the maximum specific weight in the foreign policy of the Arab countries is for the western states. The main countries-exporters of the industrial enterprise production are USA, the European countries and also the countries of the Asian region. Today taking into account Russia's practical absence in this region one can speak only about a limited cooperation between the Russian companies with the Arab countries.
Besides, one should also note the political antagonisms. Saudi Arabia is a particular case. The barrier of fifty years enmity separated Russia from this kingdom and for some reasons Moscow initially didn't have hopes for consolidating its grip on there.
- Firstly, all the contemporary history of Russia was characterized with the political position lack in Saudi Arabia. The local ruling circles didn't forget the USSR's hostile attitude towards their country. But in Russia Saudi Arabia is associated, probably, with the radical Islam - which the Russian party confronts to in the North Caucasus. The Saudi public opinion, in its turn, appraises the actions of the Russian authorities in this region of the Russian Federation very negatively.
- Secondly, the Saudi elite and the society as a whole traditionally orienting at the west didn't use to work with the other partners.
Today Russia supports the relations with all the Arab countries and also by means of the Arab intra-regional intergovernmental organizations. The economical, political, scientific and cultural spheres of cooperation unite Russia and the countries of the Arab region. The
cooperation in the military and technical sphere and high technology industries such as telecommunications, aircraft and space industries, nuclear power engineering, bio-and nanotechnologies and etc. is also of great importance.
The global problems facing to the mankind are: ecological problems, economic problems for environment preserving, demographic explosion and its control, the natural resource supply for the mankind including oil and gas, the most rational use and preserving of water being very important for this region, the international terrorism problems, non-distribution of weapons of mass annihilation, epidemics and many others. A coordination of Russia's and the Arab countries' actions can be also effective. The Arab economists understand that today price development at the world market depends on Russia's oil policy.
The Arab countries supported Russia's desire to enter the Organization "The Islamic conference" as the observer. Owing to it Russia and the Arab world had a possibility not only to emphasize their positions relatively processes going on in the world but to work together over unified approach forming for inter-civilization and inter-confessional dialog. The former major of the town Kazan, Iskhakov, is the permanent representative of the Russian Federation under Organization "Islamic conference". The problem is that not only Russia as a whole but its different regions cooperate with the Arab countries and Tatarstan plays a special role here because of ethnic, religious and cultural likeness and owing to the traditions and Tatarstan's being one of the oil-bearing oblasts of Russia. Tatarstan has the remarkable personnel of oil industry workers, organizers of oil business who can use their skills in the Arab world. The representatives of "Tatneft" try to work with the Arab colleagues actively.
Besides, there are good possibilities in Kazan for the Islamic banking system developing which have the good perspectives in the Russian Federation. The given market is attractive for Islam as there are no the Islamic banks in Russia. In support Summit devoted to the Islamic finances takes place in Kazan in the last two years; its participants are the representatives of finance organizations, investors, businessmen, the representatives of state power bodies and the scientists from the CIS countries, Europe, the countries of the SouthEastern Asia and the Middle East.
The Russian Islamic University was opened just in Kazan where the specialists in the field of the Islamic finances will be trained. The department of the world economy will be opened from 2010 where a concrete intellectual and personnel ground is already being prepared for understanding the Islamic economic model.
Moscow positions itself as the main mediator in "dialogue of civilizations" but Tatarstan - as the republic of the Moslems. Besides, Kazan isn't randomly chosen. The thousandth town is known with its scientists for the Arab world - Al'-Marjani, Musa Bigiev, Riza Fahretdinov and many others, the Arab-language books, the university oriental studies and the most northern outpost of Islam. Kazan is at a crossroads of the eastern-western civilizations.
The historical experience of Russia and the Arab countries can prove a possibility of a peaceful civilized co-existence and people's communication having the different national and religious belonging. The Arab countries were the main economic partners of the Soviet Union in the developing world by the moment of the USSR's dissolution.
At the present when the state departed from the former ideological guidelines in the foreign policy and could cope with the main crisis situations in the field of the national policy Russia has a
chance to return in the given region again in the new capacity. There are good prerequisites both for mutual advantageous relation development continuation with the countries - the old allies and these relations aggravating with the new partners in the region. The impressive perspectives for cooperation in the different spheres will be opened owing to foreign-policy course of Russia adjustment going on now and the Russian-Arab relations "improvement".
The Arab region importance for Russia as the important market continues to be vital in our days. Many potential projects are both in the sphere of a direct export of the Russian production and for more flexible types of cooperation like joint ventures organizing and investment cooperation developing within the framework of the Russian enterprises work at the Arab markets. Russia and the Arab world are the important economic and political centers in the modern world which must be multi-polar and open for the most extensive cooperation.
"Vestnik TISBI.", Kazan, 2010, N 3, p. 151-159.
