In the 20th century, the discovery and extraction of oil in the Middle east transformed the region's economy. The oil and Petrochemical industry heavily relies on Metal infrastructure and equipment for exploration, production, refining, and distribution. Steel and Aluminum Production: West Asia, particularly countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates, has invested significantly in steel and aluminum production. These Metals are essential for infrastructure development, construction, and industrial sectors.

Oil and Gas not a metal, the discovery of vast oil and gas reserves in West asia has greatly influenced the region's economy and trade. Revenue generated from the oil industry has been invested in various sectors, including metal production and trade. West Asia has a long history of Gold production and trade. Countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Egypt have significant gold reserves and have been involved in gold mining and trading activities. West Asia is known for its Copper deposits. Countries like Iran, Turkey, and Oman have substantial copper reserves and engage in copper mining and export. Iron and steel production is prominent in West Asia. Countries like Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey have established steel mills and engage in domestic production as well as export.

West Asia is a major producer of aluminum. Countries like United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Qatar have aluminum smelters and play a significant role in the global aluminum market. West Asia has been a vital crossroads for trade since ancient times. It was a crucial intersection of the Silk Road, connecting Europe, Asia, and Africa. This facilitated the exchange of metals, including precious metals like gold and silver. Arab traders played a significant role in the historical trade networks of West Asia. They were involved in the exchange of goods and commodities, including metals, along maritime and overland trade routes.

Some countries in West Asia, such as the United Arab Emirates, have established free trade zones that facilitate metal trade. These zones offer tax incentives, streamlined customs procedures, and business-friendly regulations, attracting international metal traders and companies. West Asia is moving towards developing downstream industries in the metal sector. This includes the production of value-added products such as fabricated metal products, machinery, and metal components. Several West asian countries are focusing on developing aluminum downstream industries, including the production of extrusions, sheets, and other aluminum-based products.

Also, based on the obtained results, the growth rate of the comparative advantage index of the export of most of the basic metals industry commodity groups fluctuates during the period of study. Production of non-ferrous metals has increased by more than 120 percent over the past 20 years, with the development of non-ferrous metals alongside ferrous metals being one of the goals and plans. The economies of many countries in the Middle East depend on natural resources, which form the economic foundation of these countries. 

The base metals industry is the most important export industry in the Middle East after oil and petrochemicals. The results indicate that despite the comparative advantage of the Middle East in the main group of export goods of basic metals industries, the competitive advantage for this group of products does not have a clear trend and stability.  In general, Middle Eastern countries' investment in the mining sector has been very low, except for a few countries in recent decades, and they have not paid much attention to it. In recent years, the Arab governments of the region have paid special attention to the use of information networks on the Internet to use and activate existing information and provide their resources and facilities in the mining sector. 

The Middle East with its rich mineral resources and special construction position, including being within the mineral belt of copper, chromite, Serbian, aluminum, etc. in this region can be transformed by exploitive, extractive development and especially mineral processing in the economic position itself and be an important mineral hub at the international level. According to experts, the future of the world's metal reserves, including iron, titanium, manganese, chromium, copper, and tin, its anti-hair, bismuth and platinum group, and non-metallic reserves, including perlite, potash, bauxite, and limonite, are promising. Deposits such as lead, zinc, gold, silver, indium, arsenic, diamonds are running low, and deposits such as copper, shingles, Cardium, strontium, natural graphite, and sulfur will soon be depleted. 

Many global mining experts predict that at current consumption rates, the planet's economy over the next 70 years will undermine the current known reserves, which are likely to consume half of the world's current metals. Shortly, increasing dependence on essential mineral imports, plus global competition for scarce resource resources, will increase prices and bargain for exporting countries.

Major cities in West Asia, such as Dubai and Istanbul, have emerged as important metal trading hubs. They serve as centers for metal imports, exports, and trading activities, connecting international suppliers and consumers. Industrialization and Diversification: Many countries in West Asia are actively diversifying their economies beyond oil and investing in manufacturing, construction, and infrastructure projects. This has led to increased demand for metals and metal products, boosting the metals trade in the region.

West Asian countries export a wide range of metals to global markets. These include Petroleum and petroleum products, iron and steel products, aluminum, copper, and precious metals. West Asia also imports metals to meet domestic demand. This includes raw materials, semi-finished products, and finished goods. For example, countries in the region import steel, copper, and aluminum for construction, infrastructure projects, and industrial applications. Some cities in West Asia have emerged as major metal trading hubs. For instance, Dubai in the United arab emirates and Istanbul in Turkey serve as important centers for metal trading, connecting global suppliers and buyers. West Asian countries have invested heavily in industrialization and infrastructure development. This has increased the demand for metals, particularly steel, aluminum, and copper, for construction, manufacturing, and other sectors.

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