During the years I lived in the Arabian Gulf, I found there was much interest in South-East Asia but little direct knowledge of the region. Similarly, throughout the time I’ve lived in South-East Asia, I’ve come across plenty who want to hear and talk about the Gulf but found that first-hand experience is rarer.
Of course, there are many South-East Asian expatriates working in the Gulf – more than one million Filipinos alone – and there have been people of Arab descent in South-East Asia for centuries.
At times, individual ties have been strong: the UAE-Indonesia Comprehensive…
