In the XXI century Islamic world becomes one of independent geopolitical players. Increase of Muslim communities in the countries of the European Union and the USA, and also modernization of Islamic countries of the Middle East, the Southeast, Central Asia and Northern Africa make it is possible to say that influence of Islam on world political processes will only increase. In what format should Ukraine build its relations with the new global player?
At the beginning we will note that access to nuclear technologies, precise armament, significant economic successes, possession of the greater part of world reserves of hydrocarbons and high parameters of demographic growth, alongside with monolithic religious basis deduce Muslim countries in the category of influential world layers. Islamic countries as one of the global power centers nowadays already have an opportunity to take part in formation of new geopolitical picture of the world.
Anyway, Islamic pole of influence is still under formation and adaptation to present technological and information processes, hence, it is strongly subjected to influence of other global players. Ukraine should not keep aloof the process of interaction with Islamic countries.
Among all Muslim countries one of the most modernized is considered to be Iran which purposefully moves in the direction of development of nuclear technologies despite of blocking efforts of the international community.
Pakistan is Islamic country which was the first in the Islamic world to create the nuclear bomb. It is a high-grade member of global nuclear club and one of the most powerful Asian players. Indonesia and Malaysia which are included to the group of “Asian tigers” have surprised the world with the rates of their economic growth, attraction of foreign investments and dynamics of the development. Partial loan of experience of economic growth of these countries would be relevant for Ukraine, as also research of risks and the reasons of defaults of growing economy of Islamic countries of Asia.
Zone of special interests of Ukraine are Post-Soviet countries in the Central Asia which are now in the making of internal and foreign policy and have significant power supply sources that automatically results in their getting into the sphere of influence of main geopolitical players. Strengthening of bilateral relations with these countries should become one of main directions of domestic foreign policy which does not strive for active actions in the Central Asian region yet.
In the present time of one of the central arenas of struggle for global domination remains the Middle East, the center of Islamic world which still cannot get out of the condition of instability. Even after the ending of the epoch of colonialism among the Arabian Middle Eastern countries there is no unity in foreign policy positions what allows Western countries, especially the USA, to interfere in political processes in the Middle East and to introduce their corrections into their development. Notwithstanding participation of Ukraine in antiterrorist coalition of the USA and its allies, our state did not get any serious dividends yet. Expectations concerning getting access to the Iraqi oil did not come true. In this connection with approving the bill by the government of Iraq in the sphere of the admission of foreign companies to development of oil deposits of the country, Ukraine should actively work in this direction. In the case of success, Ukraine will get a chance to transport Iraqi oil through Turkey and Black sea to Odessa.
Among Islamic countries one should pay special attention to North-African countries which until now practically completely dropped out of the field of vision of Ukrainian foreign policy.
Morocco, Algeria, Tunis, Libya and Egypt have for a long time been an arena of realization of geopolitical and economic interests of the most influential world centers - first of all the USA, the Russian Federation and the EU, though China, India and other Asian players more and more actively try to enter this region, too.
Taking into account presence of significant stocks of power resources in the Muslim countries of Northern Africa, and also the opportunity of realization of great trans-Asian transporting projects, Ukraine has all chances to become one of the links in economic relations of the Central Europe with the countries of the Middle Eastern and the North-African regions and to create favorable conditions for the solution of the problem of diversification of import of energy carriers.
Besides, the countries of Maghrib are for Ukraine the markets of production of metallurgical, machine-building, military-industrial and chemical branches, and long-term presence in this region could give serious economic dividends in the perspective.
Among the factors which constrain the expansion of economic presence of Ukraine in Islamic countries of the region mentioned above are, first of all, absence of a precise strategy, both political and trade and economic cooperation, weak agreed-legal base of bilateral relations. Weakness of our foreign policy alongside with active and sometimes aggressive actions of competitors does not let Ukraine to establish its interests in the region. In this context affects also Ukrainian subjects' of international trade activities absence of necessary operational experience in specific conditions of the region, cultural and religious conditions of which demand their obligatory taking into account while negotiating and adjustment of bilateral cooperation.
The countries of the Muslim world are certainly of great interest for our state because of their resource stocks, and also opportunities of development by Ukraine of new markets and formats of cooperation. It is not necessary to lay accent on only one or several foreign policy directions even if it is Europe, the USA and Russia. The Muslim East is rather interesting and perspective for Ukraine, too, especially as part of Ukrainian citizens belongs to this cultural and religious field that causes necessity of search of things in common with the Islamic world.
Source of information Vlasti.net
