Yesterday’s call for stronger collective defence in the Gulf by Dr Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to President Sheikh Mohamed, comes at a moment when a beleaguered Iran and its remaining armed proxies have decided to escalate and target the Arab world's largest economy.
As the Iran-backed Houthis’ repeated strikes on travellers at Riyadh’s King Khalid airport show, the human cost of failing to deter attacks or intercept missiles is steep. Such attacks also strike at the region's prosperity, something that depends on transport networks, energy infrastructure, the environment and the confidence that connect active economies and those who benefit from them.
A threat to an airport or a shipping route has consequences well beyond the country directly targeted. Airlines reassess risks to flights and businesses are forced to reconsider other supply chains. Investors also have to debate the costs of operating in a volatile region. Even the mere threat of disruption can come with a heavy price tag.
As we have seen since the Iran conflict began in February, aviation is particularly vulnerable. The Gulf’s position as a global hub depends on reliable connections between Europe, Asia and Africa. Attacks, such as those seen in Riyadh, can force airlines to reroute flights, increasing costs and disrupting travel. From this tourism, trade and international connections are imperilled.
Environmental security presents another shared challenge. Attacks on oil centres, tankers and other energy infrastructure risk causing pollution that crosses international borders and presents a generational problem. The region's marine environment is already under pressure, while the concentration of energy infrastructure and shipping in a relatively confined Strait of Hormuz makes the consequences of a major spill particularly serious.
Economic security is equally inseparable from the wider crisis. Arab states may be competitors in some markets, but their economies are also linked. Disruption in one country can ripple through its neighbours.
A beleaguered Iran and its remaining armed proxies have decided to escalate
Joint environmental response arrangements and plans to protect critical infrastructure could also improve the region’s joint ability to withstand the kind of shocking events witnessed in recent days in Saudi Arabia.
This does not mean individual Gulf countries suddenly dropping their individual national priorities or resolving every difference of opinion. It is more a question of building on the long-standing ties that unite Gulf societies and recognising the that although economic interdependence can create shared prosperity it can also come with common responses to threats. At a time when ideological actors are lashing out at those around them, the eventual outcome may just be a more aligned approach by Arab neighbours to the challenges that face them.