Qais Al-Ghanim told Arab Times on June 18, 2026, that activating a railway link with other Gulf states is essential to securing supplies and preventing oil export disruptions from any future closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The economic expert proposed three strategies to mitigate lingering effects of the recently ceased US-Israeli war against Iran, which has sustained high inflation alongside elevated energy and food prices. A UN assessment placed monthly economic losses for Middle Eastern countries at $186 billion, with Gulf states accounting for $168 billion of that total due to Hormuz disruptions.
Al-Ghanim placed railway development as the first priority to revitalize economic and commercial ties across the Gulf. Saudi Arabia is advancing its network to connect with Turkiye via Dammam, Riyadh, Makkah, Madinah, Jordan and Syria en route to Istanbul, he noted. This infrastructure would counter the sharp rise in goods transportation costs triggered by the Hormuz closure. An Observer Research Foundation report described the wider GCC railway as a 2,177-kilometre network running from Kuwait City to Muscat that could serve as the backbone for greater regional integration.
Intra-GCC trade represents roughly 10 percent of total exports, according to IMF figures, a share the railway could expand by reducing reliance on vulnerable maritime routes. The Federation of GCC Chambers of Commerce and Industry has projected that the completed network would generate more than 80,000 direct and indirect jobs. Project assessments indicate the system would transport 201 million tonnes of freight by 2030, rising to 271 million tonnes by 2045.
The expert’s second recommendation called for increasing ports in Kuwait and fellow Gulf states to provide redundancy when Hormuz faces blockage. Access to the Arabian Sea, Red Sea and, through Egypt, the Mediterranean offers alternative pathways for cargo, Al-Ghanim indicated in the Arab Times interview. Such measures would help stabilise supply chains strained by the recent conflict’s aftermath.
For the third path, Al-Ghanim advocated linking Kuwaiti oil pipelines directly to Saudi networks to bypass the Strait of Hormuz. Kuwait Petroleum Corporation has developed storage facilities in Asian importing countries, yet the expert characterised these steps as temporary rather than permanent solutions. Kuwait is exploring pipeline cooperation with Saudi Arabia and the UAE to diversify export options, Argus Media reported earlier this month.
World Bank Group data projects global growth slowing to 2.5 percent in 2026 from 2.9 percent in 2025, with a modest recovery to 2.8 percent in 2027, citing inflationary pressures and higher energy costs from potential renewed hostilities. Kuwait has tendered consultancy contracts for the initial phase of its national railway, which would connect to the GCC network at the Saudi border near Nuwaiseeb and Al-Khafji. The full GCC project, conceived in 2009, aligns with member states’ visions for enhanced trade resilience and economic diversification ahead of its targeted 2030 completion.
