Why was shortening the distance between europe and asia (with the opening of egypt's suez canal in 1869) an important event?

It meant that:

1) The use of oil, payment of crews, etc would be considerably lower
2) more people used the suez canal, as it was 'cheaper', and tolls were payed both to the Egyptian government, but a cut was also given to the USSR. This effectively proved the USSR's power to the world.

hope this helps

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