Our Publications
First publication of the Forum Working Groups following the 2025 Annual Conference
This paper argues that the creation of a regional electricity market in the Middle East offers a practical pathway to enhance energy security, reduce costs, accelerate the integration of renewable energy, and strengthen economic cooperation across the region. Despite significant differences in energy resources, demand patterns, and regulatory frameworks among Middle Eastern countries, greater cross-border electricity trade could improve grid reliability, optimize the use of generation capacity, and facilitate the large-scale deployment of solar and other clean energy sources. The authors examine the technical, economic, and institutional requirements for market integration, highlighting the importance of modern transmission infrastructure, harmonized regulations, and coordinated governance mechanisms. The study concludes that a phased approach toward a regional electricity market would generate substantial economic and environmental benefits while fostering deeper regional cooperation and supporting the broader energy transition underway across the Middle East.
The disruption of the Strait of Hormuz in 2026 shows that energy security depends not only on how much oil and gas is produced, but also on holistic systems that influence our ability to move, store and redirect energy through resilient and diversified infrastructure. This Insight argues that the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) should be expanded beyond its original transport (and evolving digital) focus to include an energy dimension. A Gulf-Mediterranean energy platform linking Gulf production, bypass pipelines, storage infrastructure, Middle East transit capacity, and Mediterranean export routes would reduce dependence on Hormuz while strengthening resilience between the Gulf and Europe, in addition to benefitting other Asian players. It would add flexibility, buffers and coordination to a system otherwise highly exposed to Gulf disruption, and support reconstruction efforts in conflict-affected areas like Gaza. This could also help the IMEC energy platform become an effective additional layer of regional resilience.
Discussion of the impact of the conflict in the Persian Gulf on the international energy market is clouded by the fog of war; by uncertainty about the intentions of President Trump and the new Iranian leadership and by the reluctance of many Governments to admit the scale of the challenge . This is therefore a good moment to lay out a fact based summary which will help readers to draw their own conclusions about the consequences of what has happened since February 28th.
The article analyzes Morocco’s evolving geopolitical and geoeconomic strategy, highlighting how the kingdom is leveraging its strategic Atlantic position to become a hub linking Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Atlantic economies through economic diplomacy, diversification, infrastructure development, and engagement with multilateral institutions, while also addressing domestic socio-economic challenges such as youth unemployment and regional inequality. It outlines Morocco’s security and regional cooperation challenges, including tensions with Algeria and jihadist threats, and emphasizes the role of major infrastructure projects like the Tanger Med port in boosting regional integration and trade. Regarding Moroccan-Israeli relations, the authors discuss the 2020 normalization of ties and subsequent deepening of security cooperation, including arms agreements and joint R&D initiatives, while noting that civilian economic relations remain limited. Despite political complexities, the article identifies considerable opportunities for expanded cooperation in trade, energy (particularly renewables), water and agricultural technology, and healthcare, suggesting that such partnerships could reinforce Morocco’s domestic resilience and cement its role as a regional economic and strategic hub - contingent on favorable political conditions and sustained commitment from all stakeholders.
In this article, Prof. Joshua Krasna examines the trajectory of Israel’s relations with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain five years after the signing of the Abraham Accords. He notes that while the agreements initially generated momentum in trade, investment, and public engagement, many of the major economic initiatives stalled even before 2023, partly due to Israeli regulatory barriers and growing Emirati frustration with developments in Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Prof. Krasna explains that the October 7 attack and the ensuing war significantly intensified these strains. Although formal diplomatic ties remain intact, Gulf states have increased their humanitarian support for Palestinians, and public sentiment in the UAE and Bahrain has grown more critical of Israel. He highlights that renewed discussions of potential Israeli annexation in the West Bank have prompted explicit warnings from Emirati officials, who view such moves as contradicting the spirit of normalization.
The article concludes that while cooperation continues on an institutional level, the political and public foundations of the Abraham Accords have weakened. Krasna presents the current phase as one of caution, in which further progress depends heavily on Israeli domestic policy choices and the broader regional climate.
This study examines the Jordan River Crossing as the principal logistical bottleneck limiting the near-term realization of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC). Despite current demand of approximately 1,500 trucks per dayת and projected demand of up to 7,500 trucks daily within three yearsת the crossing’s effective capacity remains limited to only 200 trucks per day. The study argues that a fundamental transformation is required, redefining the crossing from a passenger-oriented border terminal into a major international inland port. It proposes a phased expansion strategy that would increase capacity to 1,500 trucks per day within one year and to 7,500 trucks per day within three years, including the development of a dedicated transit terminal at the Jordan Gateway Industrial Park and closer integration with Israeli rail and port infrastructure. The authors conclude that modernizing the crossing is essential for unlocking the economic potential of IMEC and strengthening regional trade connectivity between Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.
This article examines the growing tensions between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia, arguing that recent disagreements are not the cause of a new rivalry but rather the manifestation of deeper structural divergences that have long existed beneath the surface of their strategic partnership. While both states continue to share broad interests in regional stability, economic diversification, and security cooperation, they increasingly differ in their approaches to regional conflicts, economic competition, and visions of Gulf leadership. The analysis explores how Abu Dhabi’s pursuit of a more autonomous foreign policy and Riyadh’s efforts to consolidate its regional primacy have intensified existing fault lines, particularly in areas such as Yemen, energy policy, and economic development.
On 9 March, the Forum for Regional Cooperation, in partnership with KAS Israel, convened a closed Hiwar discussion addressing the regional implications of the ongoing crisis involving Iran. The meeting brought together researchers and policy experts from ten countries. The discussion focused on identifying under-discussed aspects of the current crisis and exploring possible regional developments over the next 90 days. Participants addressed a range of strategic, ideological, economic, and diplomatic dynamics shaping the regional environment. While the military dimension of the confrontation has dominated international attention, contributors emphasized broader structural issues, including ideological influence, economic vulnerabilities, evolving security cooperation, and the implications of the crisis for regional integration and normalization efforts.
The article argues that sovereignty and power in the 21st century are no longer defined by geography or territorial size, but by a state’s ability to integrate into and shape global systems of technology, capital, data, and stability, and presents the UAE as a model that overturns the traditional notion of the “small” or merely “functional” state. Through digital sovereignty initiatives such as Pax Silica, networked multipolar diplomacy, an economy built on global flows, and a governance model anchored in stability rather than chaos, the UAE emerges not as a peripheral actor but as an indispensable node in the emerging global order, demonstrating that future power is measured by connectivity, credibility, and system-building, not borders.