While growing up, the Middle East was described to us in the language of war and dust. As a region of blood and conflicts. From the Arab-Israeli wars that redrew borders, to the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s that claimed nearly a million lives, to the Gulf Wars, the Syrian Civil War, the Lebanon’s decades of unrest, Yemen’s relentless strife, the U.S. invasions of Iraq among many other blood-sucking events. But lately, even while some wars and genocides still linger in the region, some things have definitely changed.
The “middle” region that once depended on others is now being depended on. Going by the International Energy Agency, the Middle East supplies over 40 percent of the world’s oil exports, and OPEC says that by 2050, nearly 60 percent of all exported oil will come from there. I would say these aren’t numbers but signs of control, and signs that the world’s pulse still beats to the rhythm of its deserts.
In 2021 alone, Middle Eastern exports reached US$1.27 trillion. Saudi Arabia alone sold US$138 billion worth of crude oil. And in 2024 too, refined products from the Gulf touched a record 4.8 million barrels per day. Undoubtedly, the fact is now in our faces that the region that once followed orders now sets the price of obedience. It was even once believed that Washington could always bend the region’s will but that illusion is fading. For instance, when President Donald Trump proposed turning Gaza into “Trump City,” Saudi Arabia did not respond with speeches, it simply held the American economy by refusing to sell oil. Papapa, Trump reversed The move. The gesture might seem small, but its echo was thunder. It reminded the world that Riyadh could tighten or release the veins of global energy at will.
Look at how Donald Trump toured the Middle East countries recently for investments into the American economy. From the tour alone, America got an investment pledged of a total US$3.2 trillion in commitments. Saudi Arabia pledged a US$600 billion investment with inclusion of a weapons/defence deal of roughly US$142 billion. Qatar pledged around US$1.2 trillion in “economic exchange” commitments with the inclusion of a major purchase of aircraft by Qatar Airways valued at about US$96 billion. While UAE pledged around US$1.4 trillion investment plus additional new deals of about US$200 billion announced on the visit.
Qatar despite being a relatively small country enough to be overlooked, yet it boldly hosted the 2022 world in a historic way that may not be replicated in years to come. Personally, it’s the best world cup I’ve watched so far. And one interesting thing: Qatar hosted it while still upholding its religious principle of no alcohol, yet the visitors bowed to her rules. Again, the Middle East called the shot.
But this rise is not only about money or oil. It is about the mind, which education has an influence over. The Middle East now offers thousands of scholarships to students from every continent. Its universities are drawing great attention from the world and glowing beacons of ambition. Young Africans, Asians, go there to learn on fully-funded scholarships. The region that once sent its brightest abroad is now a destination for learning.
Even tourism, too, has become poetry in motion. We constantly see videos on social media platforms where tourists give sweet reviews about tiger experiences in Middle East countries. Dubai, a city that rose from sand, now draws more visitors than Paris. Saudi Arabia’s NEOM promises to be a living city of the future, built in the desert but powered by imagination. The old and new now meet in harmony, Petra and Luxor whispering their ancient tales beside towers that scrape the sky. This is more than an economic rise. It is a rebirth of self. The Middle East no longer hides behind the lens of foreign journalists. It tells its story, its way. The voices that once echoed in translation now speak in confidence. The people of this region no longer seek permission to dream.
Lest I forget the fact that militarily, the Middle East has grown into a citadel of strength where ambition and oil wealth now fuel military might. Saudi Arabia spends nearly US$75 billion a year on defence as it wields some of the most advanced air and missile systems on earth. Iran commands over 3,000 ballistic missiles, its shadow stretching across borders through quiet influence. Turkey’s army, over 445,000 strong, anchors both Europe and Asia, while Egypt’s vast ranks remain the Arab world’s backbone. The UAE and Qatar, small yet strategic, invest in drones, cyber power, and diplomacy with quiet precision. Together, they form a new architecture of dominance, measured not by conquest but by control. In their rise, the Middle East no longer follows power; it defines it.
The word of Robert D. Kaplan just creeps in, “Geography shapes destiny, but destiny, when awakened, can redraw geography.” The Middle East has awakened. And with each refinery, each scholarship, each skyline, it is redrawing the lines of power and pride. Trade has grown. Influence has deepened. Culture has ripened. The numbers confirm what the heart already knows, this is no longer a region in waiting. It is a region in motion.
The Middle East is not the middle of anything anymore. It is the beginning of something vast. It’s writing the prologue of a new world order. A new chapter of the world is being written in Arabic, in English, in silence and in song. And for the first time in a long while, the world is listening.
Hashim Yussuf Amao writes from Ibadan, Nigeria and can be reached via: hashimlegalbard@gmail.com
