Qatar Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari said Gulf stability could no longer be taken for granted and that the instability experienced during the ongoing US-Iran conflict must not become a permanent new normal. Al Ansari made the remarks at the third Hili Forum in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
Call for economic ties to secure a lasting solution
Al Ansari said Gulf countries needed to act to ensure the region remained a zone of stability. He described the risk of the current situation becoming permanent rather than remaining a temporary crisis as one of the greatest threats.
Al Ansari said mediation efforts between the United States and Iran, as well as any agreements that might follow, could merely freeze the conflict unless economic interdependence was established. He called for stronger economic ties among the countries of the region.
The Qatari spokesperson said Gulf economies remained largely disconnected from one another, even among allies and strategic partners, and called for greater economic interdependence within the Gulf and across the wider region.
Warning over the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb
Al Ansari said the current disruption in the Strait of Hormuz could not be treated solely as an economic issue, describing it as a broader problem for international security and the global economy.
Al Ansari said the strategic waterway had not been closed even during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s. He said the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz had shattered the taboo against using major international waterways as weapons.
Al Ansari warned that if this approach became normalized, similar disruptions could occur in other straits and waterways around the world, adding that a similar situation had emerged in Bab el-Mandeb. The Qatari spokesperson said disruptions to international waterways could be repeated in other regions.
Gulf countries’ actions during the crisis
Al Ansari said Gulf countries had shown resilience during the crisis, claiming that more than 90% of the attacks had been intercepted. He also said the countries had avoided major supply-chain disruptions and that no Gulf country had drawn on its reserves.
Al Ansari said governments had taken measures to maintain supplies of energy and other commodities to international markets, and called on Gulf countries to strengthen their international messaging and “speak with one voice.”
Theme of the Hili Forum
The third Hili Forum in Abu Dhabi is being held under the theme “The Gulf at a Crossroads: Conflict, Consequences and Course Correction.” The forum is being jointly organized by the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research and the Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy.
