- 19 Apr 2018
[Arabia-Asia] Southeast Asia – Middle East Business Relations from History to Present
[This event was organised by MEI’s Arabia-Asia Research Cluster, as part of its monthly internal seminar series.]
Attendance was open to the NUS community only – Interested participants not from NUS could email meievent@nus.edu.sg.
Abstract
Although located at the two extreme corners of the biggest continent, the Middle East and Southeast Asia share a long history of trade and political relations. The unique resources of Southeast Asia and the lively markets of the Middle East and Europe kept this route active from very early on. Even before the onset of Islam, religion played a central role in trade relations with Hinduism defining the landscape. Muslims have greatly benefitted from this by extending the existing routes into Europe. Colonialism disrupted this long-term pattern by undermining the role of religion and severing family links. Today the pre-colonial transregional pattern may be coming back in bits and pieces. In this talk, it was discussed how religion and trade inform one another in relations between Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
About the Speakers
Director
Mercury Infonet Int’l Pte Ltd
Gökhan Ali Dorum is a businessman involved in international trade especially in Southeast Asia. He originally graduated from Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Middle East Technical University (METU) – Ankara/Turkey and later shifted his interest to international relations. He has completed his Master of Arts in Southeast Asia – Middle East relations at National University of Singapore (NUS) and currently pursuing his Ph.D. studies in International relations and Conflict resolution. Besides his business and active research interests, he is also involved in many social responsibility works active on the ground and on boards of some associations and non-profit institutions.
