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Saudi Arabia Calls for Mechanism to Guarantee Commitment to Inter-Arab Trade Deals

Saudi Minister of Finance Mohammed al-Jadaan. (Reuters)
Saudi Minister of Finance Mohammed al-Jadaan. (Reuters)
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Saudi Arabia Calls for Mechanism to Guarantee Commitment to Inter-Arab Trade Deals

Saudi Minister of Finance Mohammed al-Jadaan. (Reuters)
Saudi Minister of Finance Mohammed al-Jadaan. (Reuters)

Saudi Minister of Finance Mohammed al-Jadaan said that intra-Arab trade suffered from some tariff and non-tariff barriers, pointing to signs of non-compliance by some countries in the implementation of exemptions on exchanged goods, while other countries adopted protectionist trade policies.
 
Addressing the meeting of Arab Ministers of Economy and Social Affairs on Thursday in preparation for the 29th Arab Summit scheduled for April 15, Jadaan called for finding the proper mechanism to ensure the commitment of member states to the agreed measures.
 
On a different note, the Saudi minister underlined the importance of the Arab Document for the Protection and the Development of the Environment, which calls for protecting the environment from negative influences, mainly the harming effects of industrial progress.
 
Jadaan presented the achievements of the Economic and Social Council over the last fifty years, noting that the Council has forged several agreements in the economic and social fields and worked on the implementation of the convention to facilitate the development of trade between Arab countries through the adoption of an executive program and the establishment of the Greater Arab Free Trade Area.
 
Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Secretary-General of the Arab League, stressed the need to promote Arab economic integration and joint Arab action in the economic and social fields.
 
In his address to the meeting, Aboul Gheit noted that crises that have plagued the Arab region since 2011 did not only affect a particular country, but had dangerous consequences on the entire region, with regards to the high cost of protecting borders and safeguarding domestic security from the dangers of terrorism on one hand, and the heavy influx of refugees, which has inflicted serious economic and social burdens on host countries on the other hand.
 
Aboul Gheit emphasized that in light of the current situation, Arab countries are required to engage in two parallel battles, with the same degree of determination; the battle to eliminate terrorism from Arab territories and the quest for economic and social development and modernization.

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Business

Azour to Asharq Al-Awsat: Saudi Arabia Has Strong Financial Buffers to Confront War Impact

Dr. Jihad Azour, Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund, speaks at the IMF, World Bank spring meetings. (IMF)
Dr. Jihad Azour, Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund, speaks at the IMF, World Bank spring meetings. (IMF)
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Azour to Asharq Al-Awsat: Saudi Arabia Has Strong Financial Buffers to Confront War Impact

Dr. Jihad Azour, Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund, speaks at the IMF, World Bank spring meetings. (IMF)
Dr. Jihad Azour, Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund, speaks at the IMF, World Bank spring meetings. (IMF)

“This is a multidimensional shock.” That is how Dr. Jihad Azour, Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund, summed up the bleak outlook gripping the region, describing the current war as an earthquake not seen in geopolitics and economics for five decades.

He said it has struck one of the world’s most vital economic corridors, shaking energy markets, disrupting trade routes and eroding business confidence, creating uncertainty that demands unconventional responses.

He added that Saudi Arabia has, in recent years, built strong financial institutions and diversified its income, giving it room to maneuver despite the pressure.

The IMF has cut its 2026 growth forecasts for Gulf states in its World Economic Outlook, citing the fallout from the Iran war. The impact varies sharply by country, depending on exposure to energy markets and trade, and the availability of alternatives to secure oil exports.

Among oil exporters hit by the conflict, five of eight economies are now expected to contract in 2026. Qatar faces the steepest downgrade due to extensive infrastructure damage. Oman, by contrast, sees only a slight downgrade, as its maritime outlet lies entirely outside the Strait of Hormuz, and it is expected to benefit from stronger fiscal and current account balances driven by higher oil prices.

Saudi Arabia stands out, with growth projected at about 3.1% this year, supported by alternative oil pipelines.

Speaking at a virtual discussion on the IMF’s latest assessment of the war’s impact on Middle East and North Africa economies, Azour said this exceptional shock, hitting the core of global trade and energy routes, is being met in Saudi Arabia with institutional resilience.

He said the Kingdom has built strong financial “buffers” through income diversification and institutional strengthening, giving it the fiscal space to advance Vision 2030 and shield its mega projects from regional turbulence.

Strong financial institutions

Responding to a question from Asharq Al-Awsat, Azour said Saudi Arabia has anchored its fiscal policy to a medium-term framework.

He described the Kingdom’s “reordering of project priorities” as a healthy and normal response to shifting global conditions, aimed at preserving Vision 2030’s core goals of economic diversification and job creation.

He added that strong financial institutions give the Kingdom the flexibility to absorb disruptions to trade routes.

Cracks in energy infrastructure

Azour said the shock has centered on hydrocarbons, with data showing a sudden halt in the flow of more than 12 million barrels a day of oil and gas. The disruption has spread beyond energy to the real economy, with tourism across most Gulf Cooperation Council countries declining noticeably.

Business confidence has weakened, reflected in widening credit spreads and currency volatility. The Egyptian pound has been among the clearest indicators of these sharp aftershocks.

‘Baseline scenario’

Looking ahead, Azour outlined a “baseline scenario” in which hostilities end by midyear. Even then, he said, markets should expect oil prices to rise by $10 a barrel. He warned of a more severe scenario in which oil averages $130 for a prolonged period, turning the crisis from a supply shock into a heavy burden on oil importers such as Jordan and Tunisia, triggering a sharp contraction in their current accounts.

Interconnected regional interests

Azour underscored the region’s deep interdependence, saying countries such as Pakistan, Egypt and Jordan rely structurally on Gulf states not only for energy, but for financial lifelines.

Any disruption in the Gulf quickly translates into falling remittances, which account for about 5% of GDP in some countries, and a halt in capital flows. A prolonged war, he warned, could turn the energy crisis into a food security disaster for vulnerable states due to rising fertilizer and basic commodity costs.

‘Keep your powder dry’

In his strongest remarks, Azour said governments’ room for maneuver is shrinking under the weight of pandemic-era debt. He cited advice from a “Gulf finance minister” to “keep your powder dry,” urging countries to use their limited buffers with agility.

He stressed the need for precise policy calibration, replacing broad subsidies with targeted cash support for vulnerable groups, maintaining monetary tightening to curb inflation, and recognizing exchange rate flexibility as the key shield against severe shocks.

Azour said the crisis, despite its severity, should mark a turning point, forcing a fundamental rethink of the region’s long-term economic strategies.

Heavy reliance on single trade and energy routes, he said, has become an existential risk in a world of fast-moving geopolitical volatility. The post-war phase should not mean a return to old models, but a shift toward building a “resilience economy.”

He said this shift requires parallel action, accelerating diversification of production to reduce exposure to energy price shocks, while deepening regional economic integration, which the crisis has shown is not just a political choice, but a shared economic safeguard.

He also highlighted the need to strengthen food and water security through innovation, to ensure livelihoods are not left vulnerable to disruptions in global supply chains.

In a message to policymakers, Azour said lasting financial stability depends not only on crisis management, but on embedding structural shock absorbers within economic systems, enabling countries to absorb major shocks and move toward more sustainable and inclusive growth, away from the volatility of geopolitics and prolonged conflict.

Business

Alternative Routes for Middle East Oil and Gas Due to Hormuz Disruption

The sun rises behind tankers anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Qeshm Island, Iran, Saturday, April 18, 2026. (AP)
The sun rises behind tankers anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Qeshm Island, Iran, Saturday, April 18, 2026. (AP)
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Alternative Routes for Middle East Oil and Gas Due to Hormuz Disruption

The sun rises behind tankers anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Qeshm Island, Iran, Saturday, April 18, 2026. (AP)
The sun rises behind tankers anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Qeshm Island, Iran, Saturday, April 18, 2026. (AP)

The US-Israeli war with Iran has disrupted shipping through ‌the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most important oil chokepoint, exposing the Middle East's limited alternatives for exporting its hydrocarbons.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) called it the largest supply disruption on record, bigger than the oil shocks of the 1970s and the loss of Russian pipeline gas after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine combined.

These are the existing and possible alternative oil and gas export bypasses of the Strait of Hormuz:

EXISTING PIPELINES:

EAST–WEST PIPELINE (SAUDI ARABIA)

Saudi Arabia's 1,200-km East–West pipeline can transport up to 7 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, with effective exports estimated at around 4.5 million bpd, depending on tanker and jetty availability.

From Yanbu, shipments can travel ‌to Europe via ‌the Suez Canal or south via the Bab el-Mandeb ‌strait ⁠to reach Asia, ⁠a route carrying security risks from Yemen's Houthi militants, who have attacked tankers during the Gaza war.

HABSHAN–FUJAIRAH PIPELINE (UAE)

The Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline (ADCOP) runs from Abu Dhabi's Habshan onshore fields to Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman, outside Hormuz. Operated by ADNOC and commissioned in 2012, the 360-km pipeline has capacity of about 1.5–1.8 million bpd. Oil loadings at Fujairah, however, have been affected by drone attacks since the Iran war started ⁠at the end of February.

KIRKUK-CEYHAN PIPELINE (IRAQ- TÜRKIYE)

Iraq's main northern export route ‌runs from Kirkuk to Türkiye's Mediterranean port of ‌Ceyhan via the Kurdistan region. The pipeline restarted last September after a 2-1/2-year shutdown following an ‌interim deal between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government. On March 17, Iraq began ‌pumping 170,000 bpd, with plans to reach 250,000 bpd, after Iraq's national oil company SOMO signed export contracts via Türkiye, Jordan and Syria.

GOREH-JASK PIPELINE

Iran may be able to utilize the Jask terminal, fed by the 1 million bpd Goreh-Jask pipeline, to bypass the Strait, the ‌IEA said in its latest oil market report. The construction of the terminal is not fully complete but a loading ⁠from Jask was tested ⁠in 2024, it said.

POSSIBLE ALTERNATIVE ROUTES:

IRAQ–OMAN PIPELINE Iraq said last September it was considering a pipeline from Basra to Oman’s port of Duqm on the Gulf of Oman.

The project remains at an early conceptual stage, with routes under study including an overland line via neighboring countries or a costly subsea pipeline.

IRAQ–JORDAN PIPELINE

The proposed 1 million bpd pipeline would ship crude from Basra to Jordan's Red Sea port of Aqaba, bypassing Hormuz.

First proposed in the 1980s and approved in principle in 2022, the project remains stalled by cost, security and political hurdles.

GULF–SEA OF OMAN CANAL

A canal bypassing Hormuz - similar to the Suez or Panama Canals - remains purely conceptual. A project to cut through the Hajar Mountains toward Fujairah would face extreme engineering challenges and could cost hundreds of billions of dollars.

Business

US Official Says Gas Prices Have Peaked Despite Iran War

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright testifies before a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Strategic Forces Subcommittee hearing on US President Donald Trump’s budget request for the Department of Energy on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, US, April 21, 2026. (Reuters)
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright testifies before a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Strategic Forces Subcommittee hearing on US President Donald Trump’s budget request for the Department of Energy on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, US, April 21, 2026. (Reuters)
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US Official Says Gas Prices Have Peaked Despite Iran War

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright testifies before a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Strategic Forces Subcommittee hearing on US President Donald Trump’s budget request for the Department of Energy on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, US, April 21, 2026. (Reuters)
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright testifies before a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Strategic Forces Subcommittee hearing on US President Donald Trump’s budget request for the Department of Energy on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, US, April 21, 2026. (Reuters)

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Tuesday that gasoline prices appeared to have peaked after a surge linked to the Iran war -- a marked shift in tone a day after President Donald Trump publicly rebuked his earlier, more cautious outlook.

"I don't know the future of energy prices -- often I will speculate or look at those things. I would say, gasoline prices, it looks like they peaked about a week or so ago," Wright told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

He said the high point was $1 a gallon cheaper than the peak during the administration of Trump's predecessor Joe Biden, adding: "Yet we're in the midst of ending a 47-year conflict in the Middle East, a major energy producing region."

The remarks mark an abrupt pivot from comments Wright made on CNN on Sunday, when he warned that prices might not fall below $3 per gallon until next year due to disruptions in global oil flows.

But Trump swiftly distanced himself from that assessment, telling politics news outlet The Hill that Wright was "totally wrong" to suggest a prolonged period of elevated prices. He said prices would fall "as soon as this ends," referring to the Iran war.

The rebuke underscores tensions within the administration as it grapples with the economic fallout from the conflict, which has rattled global energy markets.

Oil prices surged after disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz -- a critical shipping chokepoint off Iran's southern coast -- pushed US gasoline above $4 a gallon for the first time since 2022.

Data from AAA show the national average for regular gasoline at $4.02 on Tuesday, down slightly from $4.118 a week earlier -- lending some support to Wright's claim that prices were coming down.

Still, prices remain sharply higher than roughly $3.15 a year ago, underscoring the political sensitivity of fuel costs ahead of November's congressional elections.

The current crisis is rooted in decades of US-Iran tensions dating back to the 1979 revolution and hostage crisis.

The latest flare-up has seen shipping restrictions, military pressure and a fragile ceasefire that appeared close to expiring as of Tuesday, with no clear path to lasting resolution.

While oil benchmarks have eased from recent highs, any renewed disruption in the Gulf could quickly reverse that trend.