NEW PLAYERS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN - German Marshall ...

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Other Emerging Actors
Japan
Most of Japan’s investment in Europe is in the
rich and northern regions rather than in southern
Europe and the Mediterranean area. In 2006,
Western Europe was Japan’s largest recipient
of FDI, however, that money was concentrated
in developed, non-Mediterranean economies,
specifically the United Kingdom, the Netherlands,
and Germany. In recent years, Japanese companies
have begun investing in the North African states
of the Maghreb. Several companies have shifted
factories from Eastern Europe to Tunisia, Algeria,
and Morocco. In terms of Japan’s larger European
investments, this is pretty small change.
The one area in which Japan has shown an abiding
and consistent interest in the Mediterranean
is its supply of bluefin tuna. The Japanese had
traditionally imported southern bluefin tuna
from the waters off the coast of Australia. When
that market collapsed from overfishing, the
Japanese switched to Atlantic bluefin from the
Mediterranean. Japan is now importing 80 percent
of the world’s bluefin tuna catch, mainly from the
Mediterranean.
As the third-largest oil consumer in the world,
Japan depends on the Gulf Arab countries for
most of its oil. But, like China and India, in recent
years Japan has also invested in the Maghreb
region as a way of diversifying its energy sources.
Joint ventures between Japanese companies and
those states with significant energy reserves are
prominent. For example, the Japanese engineering
firm JGC has signed a $1.42 billion contract for
the construction, procurement, and engineering
of facilities in the Gassi Touil gas fields in
southern Algeria. 76
76
“Japanese, European firms ink gas deal with Algeria,”
ChannelNewsAsia.com, June 8, 2009, at http://www.
channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world_business/
view/434459/1/.html.
Brazil
As one of the countries comprising BRIC (Brazil,
Russia, India and China), Brazil is an emerging
power that aims to build ties with countries outside
of the Americas. Brazil’s economic and diplomatic
engagement with countries in the Mediterranean
and Maghreb is part of this larger strategy of
building alliances around the world. Like India,
Brazil, too, is a contender for a seat on the United
Nations Security Council and would like the
support of countries in different parts of the world.
Though a net oil exporter, Brazil is among the top
oil consumers, and thus ties with countries in the
Maghreb and Arab world are crucial. We should
not be surprised to see Brazil build its energy and
security ties with Turkey, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco,
Algeria, and Libya in the future. On the other hand,
Brazil’s emergence as an energy producer could also
threaten some Mediterranean exporters like Algeria
and Libya.
Acknowledging their similar status as regional
powers and emerging economies, Brazil and Turkey
are seeking to increase cooperation in the areas
of trade, investment, and energy. In May 2009,
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva paid
a visit to Ankara to discuss bilateral relations with
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The most tangible result of the meeting was the
announcement of a joint venture between Brazil’s
Petrobras and Turkey’s TPAO for oil exploration in
the Black Sea reportedly worth $800 million. 77 In
order to diversify their sources of energy, Turkey
is also looking to gain from Brazilian expertise in
biodiesel and ethanol-based fuels. Brazil in turn
is hoping to collaborate with Turkish companies
in the manufacture and sale of jet airplanes.
77
Saban Kardas, “Turkey and Brazil to Explore Oil in the
Black Sea,” Eurasia Daily Monitor, Vol. 6, No. 100 (May 26
2009); “Turkey and Brazil to Jointly Explore for Petroleum
in Black Sea,” Today’s Zaman, January 2, 2010, at http://www.
todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=176099.
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The German Marshall Fund of the United States