Publication Details

This Policy Brief focuses on energy security, which is a national priority across the Middle East, although the region’s technical readiness for cross-border electricity trade remains vastly underutilised. It highlights electricity-based interconnection networks across the Middle East portion of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) axis – the Gulf Cooperation Council region, the Mashreq, the Levant, and the East Mediterranean – pointing out that while natural gas currently dominates regional electricity generation, 70% of the region’s total, hydrogen is a core component of IMEC’s broader vision. It argues that a phased, bilateral approach, beginning with high-voltage direct current (HVDC)-based interconnections and long-term Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), offers a pragmatic, politically feasible path toward a regional electricity market with substantial energy security, geostrategic and economic benefits.