In examining the situation in the Middle East, the significance of the oil factor in respect of the Gulf region must be noted. Firstly, out of the estimated crude oil reserves of 690 billion barrels, over 40 per cent of the proven reserves are located in the Gulf region. Saudi Arabia, with more than 168 billion barrels, has the largest proven reserves, followed by Kuwait (67 billion barrels) and Iraq (65 billion barrels). With a crude oil production of around 12 million barrels a day, these reserves are expected to last into the first few decades of the next century

The performance of the agricultural and industrial sectors during 1971 acquires an added significance as 1971 happens to be the first year of China’s ambitious Fourth Five-Year Plan. This Plan visualized new dimensions for the policies in these two basic sectors. This policy has aimed at optimum utilization of all factors of productions increasing the operational efficiency of both peasants and industrial labour through material incentives like private plots; and reinstalling technocrats in the respective industries.

The recent events in Iran have raised a number of questions: one interesting question concerns the real character of the US interests in that country. There are obvious strategic US interests like monitoring and early warning stations, oil interests, military interests, including sales of huge quantities of modern weaponry, and so on.