Toward a New Discourse of Global Connectivity: The Gulf’s Ambitions in Strategic Corridors and Partnerships
This report examines the rising strategic significance of economic corridors, with a particular focus on the Gulf region’s growing role in shaping their development. In today’s increasingly multipolar world, corridors such as the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), the Iraq Development Road Corridor (IDRC), and China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) function not only as trade routes but as instruments of geopolitical influence, development finance, and regional integration. For Gulf states, participation in these projects presents an opportunity to diversify their economies, expand regional connectivity, and strengthen global partnerships—provided they adopt a deliberate and coordinated approach.
The report identifies three core policy pillars critical to maximizing the long-term benefits of corridor engagement: geopolitical agility, strategic financing, and inclusive economic development.
First, Gulf states should pursue a multi-corridor strategy that avoids zero-sum alignments and promotes regional cooperation. Non-alignment—anchored in flexibility and pragmatism—enables the Gulf to maintain open partnerships with all major powers. At the same time, the report advocates for a formalized “GCC+” dialogue platform to coordinate corridor development with key partners like Turkey, Egypt, and India, as well as trilateral mechanisms involving the EU and India. Corridors should also be leveraged to support regional diplomacy, not just commerce.
Second, the report emphasizes the strategic deployment of sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) to finance infrastructure, energy connectivity, and digital trade. This approach would reinforce Gulf-led development priorities while ensuring financial sustainability. The report calls for the appointment of special envoys to manage financial coordination with multilateral institutions, and for comprehensive feasibility studies to evaluate corridor returns and risks. It also stresses the need to attract private sector investment through regulatory transparency and public-private partnership (PPP) incentives.
Third, to ensure corridors drive inclusive economic growth, Gulf policymakers should expand free trade agreements to cover digital and infrastructure integration, support local job creation, and embed technology transfer agreements into corridor planning. These measures would localize the benefits of corridor development and reduce overreliance on external actors.
Ultimately, the Gulf’s corridor strategy must be rooted in long-term planning, institutional coordination, and economic sovereignty. If implemented with foresight and cooperation, economic corridors can become a cornerstone of Gulf-led regional stability, economic diversification, and international influence.
The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Gulf International Forum.
Issue: Economy & Innovation
Country: GCC
Dr. Dania Thafer is the Executive Director of Gulf International Forum, an institute based in Washington, D.C. that provides analysis on political, economic, social, and security issues for the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, Iran, Iraq and Yemen. She is also a Professorial Lecturer at the School of Foreign Service’s Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University. Her expertise is on the Gulf region’s security, U.S.-Gulf relations, and the political economy of the GCC states.
Dr. Thafer has been widely published and consults regularly on matters concerning the GCC and the Middle East. Dr. Thafer has a new book titled “Creative Insecurity: Institutional Inertia and Youth Potential in the GCC” published by Oxford University Press and Hurst Co. (2023). Additionally, she has co-authored two edited books “The Arms Trade, Military Services and the Security Market in the Gulf States: Trends and Implications” and “The Dilemma of Security and Defense in the Gulf Region.” Her commentary has appeared in international media outlets, including: The New York Times, Financial Times, BBC World, Washington Post, Forbes, Al Jazeera and others. Additionally, she is regularly consulted by governmental, non-governmental, corporations and research institutions globally.
Previously, she was responsible for building relationships with foreign dignitaries from the Middle East at the National Defense University’s Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies in Washington, DC. Dr. Thafer has a master’s degree in political science from New York University, and Ph.D. in Political Science, specialized in the Political Economy and International Relations from American University in Washington, DC.
Dalia Ghanem is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Conflict and Security Program at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs. Her research focuses on Middle Eastern and North African politics, including issues of political violence, radicalization, civil-military relations, and gender studies. Previously, Ghanem served as Director of the MENA Program and Senior Analyst at the European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS), an EU agency, where her research focused on the intricate interplay between the Middle East, North Africa, and the European Union. Prior to her tenure at EUISS, Ghanem was a Senior Resident Scholar at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, where she worked extensively on Algeria’s complex political, economic, and security landscape.
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