This is not an optimal situation. What is needed is a common plan for cooperation on energy. This could serve as a major catalyst for regional development and integration. In the Middle East today, a key to energy is natural gas. It is a clean and efficient energy source, particularly useful in the production of electricity.
Natural gas exists in a number of countries.
The critical component to a common energy policy is the construction and administration of pipelines throughout the region. These pipelines would serve both to bring gas where it is needed in the region, and to facilitate its export outside the region. But ultimately it could involve the entire region, including Syria and Lebanon and countries from the Persian Gulf to the eastern Mediterranean. There is an additional gain from a cooperative effort on the distribution of gas through pipelines. The construction of a network of pipelines and associated facilities is a major undertaking.