THE UAE FACTOR IN THE HOA (the battle for ports, gold & oil)
Posted: 10 Jan 2024, 01:35
It has been quite sometime since I studied Adam Smith and Paul Samuelson on the theories of value and supply & demand. I believe the economics of sea coasts and sea ports are also governed by the same principles of utility, value, supply and demand.
At the very bottom of the noise and drama regarding ports and sea access in the HoA is money - economics. It is about the the utility and value of sea coasts. It is about the supply and demand of ports and sea coasts.
whether or not there is sufficient supply of ports and sea access to satisfy the demands of HoA consumers, I will leave it those who are in the know about the subject.
But, I know one hard fact; that is Ethiopia with ever growing 150 million people and potential economic growth remains to be the singular critical consumer of port services and sea coasts. The populations of the 3 Somali states, Eritrea and Djibouti added don't equal a third of Ethiopia.
Therefore, if ports and sea coasts have any significant economic value, it is because of Ethiopia. In one word - Ethiopia is the Demand Side of the Port Economics.
Those countries that were supposed to supply modern, efficient and desire-able ports are too poor or to incompetent to do so. Here come the business savvy UAE Sheiks . UAE is reshaping the political map of the region in order to control the ever critical sea port industry of HoA.
And, the single greatest consumer of this service industry is Ethiopia. So, it is ironic how these so called port suppliers are treating Ethiopia - their most critical customer! Now, is that stupid or what?
Yes, if Ethiopia manages to secure a port in Somaliland, the development money can only come from UAE and in return taking business away from Djibouti and most likely controlling Ethiopia's port demands.
So much for this 'new Dubai'
At the very bottom of the noise and drama regarding ports and sea access in the HoA is money - economics. It is about the the utility and value of sea coasts. It is about the supply and demand of ports and sea coasts.
whether or not there is sufficient supply of ports and sea access to satisfy the demands of HoA consumers, I will leave it those who are in the know about the subject.
But, I know one hard fact; that is Ethiopia with ever growing 150 million people and potential economic growth remains to be the singular critical consumer of port services and sea coasts. The populations of the 3 Somali states, Eritrea and Djibouti added don't equal a third of Ethiopia.
Therefore, if ports and sea coasts have any significant economic value, it is because of Ethiopia. In one word - Ethiopia is the Demand Side of the Port Economics.
Those countries that were supposed to supply modern, efficient and desire-able ports are too poor or to incompetent to do so. Here come the business savvy UAE Sheiks . UAE is reshaping the political map of the region in order to control the ever critical sea port industry of HoA.
And, the single greatest consumer of this service industry is Ethiopia. So, it is ironic how these so called port suppliers are treating Ethiopia - their most critical customer! Now, is that stupid or what?
Yes, if Ethiopia manages to secure a port in Somaliland, the development money can only come from UAE and in return taking business away from Djibouti and most likely controlling Ethiopia's port demands.
So much for this 'new Dubai'
