Disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz are highlighting the vulnerabilities of global trade to reliance on a single strategic chokepoint, prompting businesses and governments to seek costly alternative routes amid escalating geopolitical tensions. The situation is testing longstanding efforts by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to diversify its logistics, trade corridors, and port infrastructure to enhance resilience.
Fahad Al Gerqawi, Undersecretary at the UAE Ministry of Foreign Trade, emphasized that the country has spent decades preparing for disruptions of this nature, underscoring a strategic model centered on preparedness. “No one is anywhere used to a war being in the region directly to us,” Al Gerqawi said, noting that such crises force states to reconsider and adapt their approaches. His remarks highlighted the UAE’s commitment to reducing dependence on any single transport route or mode, reflecting lessons drawn from Dubai’s multimodal logistics system established in the 1980s.
This approach has involved developing an integrated network of ports, airports, logistics infrastructure, and trade agreements, including alternative corridors on the UAE’s eastern coast. Khorfakkan port, for example, offers an option to bypass the Strait of Hormuz. However, industry experts caution that simply having additional ports is insufficient without a comprehensive ecosystem linking these assets to industrial zones, roads, and logistics parks.
“You cannot pour concrete at the speed of a crisis,” said a logistics analyst, stressing the importance of a fully connected infrastructure that allows rapid cargo rerouting when established routes face disruption. The challenge lies in maintaining an adaptable supply chain network capable of managing sudden changes.
From a broader economic perspective, Karen Young, Senior Research Scholar at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, noted that the ongoing disruptions are “rewiring and remapping” global energy and trade flows. While markets will find alternative pathways, Young warned that these options may come at higher costs and reduced reliability, disproportionately affecting weaker economies. “The market will figure out ways to get things from place A to place B. But it doesn’t mean that the price stays the same or that availability in different markets is consistent,” she said.
The crisis also underscores the inseparability of trade and security. Florence Gaub, Director of the Research Division at the NATO Defence College, observed that security issues at strategic chokepoints like the Strait of Hormuz rapidly translate into broader trade challenges. She suggested that the international landscape may increasingly feature “liquid alliances” or “frenemies,” where countries maintain trade ties despite political disagreements.
North Macedonia’s Foreign Minister Tchimo Mucunski remarked that future economic success hinges on building resilient connections rather than isolation. “Resilience in no way means isolation,” he said, emphasizing that nations must foster interdependence while safeguarding their infrastructure.
Al Gerqawi reiterated the UAE’s perspective that trade itself can serve as a foundation for cooperation amid geopolitical uncertainty. He highlighted the Future Investment and Trade Partnership, a UAE-led initiative involving Switzerland, Singapore, and New Zealand, aimed at countering protectionist trends by strengthening ties among like-minded economies. “Waiting is not an option for us,” he stated, signaling the urgency with which the UAE and its partners are adapting to an increasingly complex global trade environment.