Posted on July 21, 2011 by Phillip Lee

Last week I returned from a trip to the Middle East, where I spent the Parliamentary recess. In my capacity as Vice-Chair of the Conservative Middle Eastern Council (CMEC) I visited Syria and as member of the Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI), I visited Israel and the West Bank. During the two visits, I met with many Ministers, civil servants, students and businessmen, all of whom held strong opinions and different views of the Israel and Palestine peace process.

As Parliamentarians I believe it is very important that we go on visits such as these so that we accrue first-hand knowledge of the countries we as a nation are dealing with on a regular basis. Having visited this area, experienced the various cultures and met a number of decision makers, it becomes easier to understand their circumstances and perspectives when we are faced with issues which involve our relations with the region. Particularly now, with the unrest that is dominating the area, it is even more significant to personally understand what is really happening on the ground.

The current instability in the region affects European countries in more than one respect, not only will we most likely see a disruption to energy supplies, the majority of the world’s fossil fuel reserves are located in this area and already we have seen a sharp rise in the price of oil, but it will potentially lead to a significant increase of migration from countries in this area to Europe. In addition, there is a risk that the unrest will produce a further export of terrorism from the region.

When I visited National Grid Control Centre in Wokingham Borough with the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee, in the beginning of February, I learnt that 70% of our electricity comes from oil and gas. This shows how dependent we as a country are on fossil fuels, much of it imported. It is well known that there is a direct relationship between energy and prosperity – the future health of a country’s economy is strongly linked to its energy. Hence, in light of recent events in North Africa and the Middle East, I think we need to re-think our foreign policy in this region and aim to become as independent of imported fossil fuels as possible.

This was an important time to be in the Middle East. AsVice-Chair of CMEC, this will not be my last visit to the area and it will be interesting to see how the region will be shaped by the ongoing events.

(Published in The Wokingham Times on the 4th of March 2011)