ENERGY CONNECTIVITY AND COOPERATION BETWEEN GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL (GCC), IRAN, AND SOUTH ASIA

Abstract

Energy is an essential economic commodity for all countries. Its existence can ensure reliable transportation, the welfare of households, and the capability of economic firms to produce a variety of commodities. Sorrell and Rasoulinezhad and Taghizadeh-Hesary discuss that the importance of energy for economies has seen the rate of growth of global primary energy consumption continue to grow since 1850. For instance, Iran is considered one of the suitable energy suppliers for South Asia due to its land border with Afghanistan and Pakistan and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. The GCC includes six energy exporting economies, i.e., Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, established in 1981. Besides GCC states, Iran has experienced considerable energy trade connectivity with the South Asian region. Overall, it can be concluded from the existing literature that analyzing and comparing energy export patterns from Iran and the GCC states to the South Asian countries has not been considered by scholars.