UAE Response To Disruption Of Global Trade Routes Demonstrated At GLOBSEC Forum 2026

UAE Minister for Foreign Trade Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi used a high-level panel at the GLOBSEC Forum 2026 in Prague to explain how the UAE is keeping trade flowing during the Iran war, stressing the country’s resilience as a stable global trade hub despite disruption to major shipping routes.

Speaking during the session titled ‘The Ripple Effect: How the Iran War is Shaping Global Economies and Politics’, Al Zeyoudi addressed senior policymakers, business leaders, and international officials. The discussion focused on how conflict-linked shipping risks, rerouted vessels, and higher insurance costs are reshaping trade flows and wider geopolitical relations.

Al Zeyoudi said the conflict had forced long-planned changes to regional logistics to move faster. "The fundamental redesign of Gulf logistics that we were undertaking over a decade is now being compressed into years," said Al Zeyoudi. "What this moment has done is accelerate the timelines of existing plans, and underscore the wisdom of building an open, diversified, and resilient trade architecture before it is needed."

To manage the rerouting of global trade routes, the UAE has activated a network of alternative corridors. These include greater use of the eastern ports of Fujairah and Khorfakkan, new air freight bridges for time-critical pharmaceutical and food shipments, a Green Corridor with Oman, and a Sharjah-Dammam trade bridge that links Gulf markets more directly.

Al Zeyoudi explained that the logistics response is backed by financial measures. The UAE has deployed an AED 1 billion economic support fund to maintain business continuity and provide targeted relief for SMEs. The Central Bank has also launched a Five-Pillar Financial Institution Resilience Package designed to keep credit flowing through the banking system.

Looking beyond the immediate shock to global trade routes, Al Zeyoudi highlighted the UAE’s Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement programme as central to long-term growth. The CEPA network now covers 36 agreements across six continents and supported non-oil foreign trade worth US$1.03 trillion in 2025. "Nothing that we have achieved in the last five years has been undone or unwound," said Al Zeyoudi. "The UAE is a bridge to high-growth markets across the Gulf, Africa and Asia, and a partner for trade, logistics, investment and technology. That role has not diminished. It has become more important."

With inputs from WAM