@Indus Pakistan
The reality is that the entire world is built as a mirage of the Western world and Western world order. A sleeping giant like China (reemerging at least) is trying to change the status quo but it will probably be contained and fail to rival the Western cultural and economic outreach. To begin with the Chinese are very insular looking historically speaking, never creating any empires outside of their traditional lands/sphere of interest. The containment will be done by the usual suspects (Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, India, and dare I say Russia once Putin dies/is removed and they return to their fellow European/Western family that Russia belongs to).
A part of me beliefs that our military "elite", aside from the usual corruption, business/family etc. ties to the same West (none of it exists in regards to China) see where all this is going.
Interestingly enough Chinese people themsleves are some of the biggest Western-fixated people that I have ever met. If they had a choice they would ally themselves with the same Western world order!
So I don't blame KSA for looking towards the West. However as far as the location of NEOM goes, I think that a lot of this can be explained by the nearby Suez Canal. Have in mind that 15% (!), which is a huge number, of ALL world trade passes through it. I also think that a milder climate plays a role here and the combination of a pristine coastline, mountains and desert as well as a largely undeveloped and not very populated area plays a big role here.
Looking at history, the same West has played various Arab regimes against each other and helped keep it as a backwater since WW1. I would argue that this is a deliberate policy.
As for NEOM going that way (Western way), I am afraid that by 2080 the entire world will look like that for good and bad. I hope that this won't be the case but I will be dead by then (likely).
Anyway in recent months after extensive readings, I have realized that we are all prisoners/puppets in this modern-day Western construct that we call the world by large. The world has never in its history been this similar by large. It is actually a bit of a tragedy to think about. Youth from Congo to Papua New Guinea are all dreaming about the same things and trends like anywhere else by large.
Saudi Arabia could funnel fresh water from the river mouths of Nile and Euphrates and Tigris, with huge network of pipes. The water would be pumped by electric pumps along the pipelines, with wind and/or solar power as energy source. This way massive amount of freshwater could be used to irrigate large swaths of Arabia, increasing the food production and greenery. In turn this could support 10X larger population and strengthen Saudi economy and long term power growth.
Not realistic. It would be better to harvest the billions of liter of wasted rainwater that runs directly form the large mountain areas of KSA into the Red Sea as described in the video that I posted. That alone could turn a landmass the 3-4 times the size of Bangladesh into fertile lands.
When I lived in KSA, when it flooded it really flooded. Due to the arid soil (largely) large rainfall turned into floods really quickly.
Also due to remarkably lack of drainage sewage system in some places.
As far as population goes, by 2100 populations will decrease everywhere and numbers will play a much smaller role given technology and automatization (robotics). Have in mind that Arabia today has a population of 100 million. In fact the Arab world has a too big population. I read that by 2050-2060 it will approach 800-1 billion. Not sure how realistic that is with climate changes etc. A recipe for disaster IMO.
We are all mortal and good thing it is so. My wife has already gone. I don't particularly want to live for long. Another decade to see my children consolidate their lives would be nice. I have done everything, almost. Good, bad and some terrible. I have some regrets but I cant fix them now. Non of us can go back in time. So death is kind of freedom waiting at the end. And that is nice.
We should not fear it providing we have done everything we wanted to. To not have lived is to fear death. But I have lived.Like I said another decade and I will go with a smile to my maker. Maybe even get to join my wife again!
Now that would be nice.
My condolences. Sad to hear. I hope that you will find some strength to keep going. Even when Pakistan is sinking at the moment. Children are life's biggest blessing. Nothing comes close to it. Seeing them grow up is enough reason to keep yourself alive IMO.
It is a privilege to have no regrets. Few people can say that.
