What Can Biden Offer to the New Middle East?
July 10, 2022, 9:06 am

What Can Biden Offer to the New Middle East?

Dalia Ziada

In anticipation for the first visit of the United States President, Joseph Biden, to the Middle East, in mid-July, the meetings between the leaders of the Arab countries have not stopped. All similar visits by former American presidents to the Middle East were important. Each of them marked fundamental changes in the political and economic agendas of the region, that eventually echoed into the global policies of western countries, including the United States itself. In that sense, the Arab leaders want to make sure that their regional and individual priorities will not be disregarded, while Biden is giving the priority to handling the consequences of the war in eastern Europe.

According to an official statement by the White House, Biden is finally making his first visit to the region, as president, on 13-16 July. It took him two years in office, and a threat as huge as the Russian invasion of Ukraine, to realize how important the Middle East for the success of his administration. The drastic shift in Biden’s stance towards the Middle East, from cold and distant to warm and open, is clearly a desperate attempt to redeem the lost popularity of his administration and his Democratic Party.

The American president’s schedule tells that his first stop will be in Israel, where he will meet with Israeli and Palestinian officials. Yet, it is highly unlikely that President Biden can actually make a difference in the frozen peace process between Israel and the Palestinians. The trauma of Biden administration’s slow response to the latest episode of war in Gaza, last year, is still unforgotten and unforgiven by many parties in the region. In addition, the political instability in the Israeli governmental structure is hindering any potential role that the United States can play to attract more Arab countries to normalize relations with Israel. Ironically, Biden’s Republican predecessor, President Trump, was much successful in that regard.

Actually, Trump was even more successful in communication with the leaders of the Gulf. The main part of Biden’s visit to the region will be happening in Jeddah, where he will attend a regional summit coined as ‘GCC+3 Summit.’ The summit is organized and hosted by Saudi Arabia, and will be attended by the leaders of all the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), in addition to the heads of Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan.

The particular significance of Biden’s visit to Saudi Arabia, next week, is that, for the first time, the United States is trying to catch the train of regional change that is moving forward without its consent and despite its will, at a time when the western world is overwhelmed by the consequences of the war in Ukraine. What is even more interesting is that the driver of the new Middle East train is Saudi Arabia, the United States’ oldest ally in the Arab Gulf region, which President Biden unjustifiably labeled as an adversary to please his voters from the extreme leftists.

Therefore, Biden’s top goal of his prospected visit to the region should be to win the Middle East leaders on his side, so he can benefit from what they can offer to solve the current world troubles, especially the soaring economic crisis. To achieve that, Biden needs to follow Trump’s recipe if he wants to succeed with Gulf leaders. The pragmatic approach of the Trump Administration, which relied on ‘personal diplomacy’ was the perfect political language that the Middle East leaders could understand and respond to.

The current cluster of health, economic, and security crises, on the global stage, is causing an effect similar to that of the World Wars, in terms with its huge influence on changing the balance of power in the world. It is still in the hands of the Biden Administration to keep the United States on the top as the most powerful country, or simply leave the court open for eastern rivals – Russia and China – to emerge as the new superpowers of the newly emerging world. The policy that the Biden Administration is going to adopt towards the Middle East, in the next half of his first term, is the determining factor in this world game of chess.

BY: Dalia Ziada

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BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
BENEFIT’s Chief Executive Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi, commented: “Our support for this educational hackathon reflects our long-term strategic vision to nurture the talents of emerging national youth and empower the next generation of accomplished female leaders in technology. By fostering creativity and innovation, we aim to contribute meaningfully to Bahrain’s comprehensive development goals and align with the aspirations outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030—an ambition in which BENEFIT plays a central role.”
Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
For his part, Dr. Humam ElAgha, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at the University, said: “BuildHer CityHack 2025 embodies our hands-on approach to education. By tackling real-world problems through creative thinking and sustainable solutions, we're preparing women to thrive in the knowledge economy – a cornerstone of the University's vision.”