The Middle East has always been a region of contention which posits diplomatic hurdles and strategic challenges. Analysts often try to make sense of the conflict in the region resulting from competing socio-economic and religious identities. An overlooked aspect is that of the repercussions of all these on trade in the region. Is the trade potential of the region exploited to its fullest?  Is the trade pattern adopted by the members sustainable? Would integration result in welfare maximisation? These are a few questions worth introspection.

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Devassy Auseph

The Middle East has always been a region of contention which posits diplomatic hurdles and strategic challenges. It is interesting to note that there has been no general consensus in defining the term ‘Middle East’. President Dwight Eisenhower in his Eisenhower Doctrine of 1957 defined the area as the area lying between Libya on the West, Pakistan on the East, Turkey on the North and the Arabian Peninsula on the south.

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Devassy Auseph is Research Intern at CPPR- Centre for Strategic Studies. Views expressed are personal and need not reflect or represent the views of Centre for Public Policy Research.

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