SARA ALZAABI (ABU DHABI)

Exploring how Gulf states can navigate geopolitical change while strengthening regional stability and resilience, the third Hili Forum commenced in Abu Dhabi on September 7.

The two-day event brings together policymakers, government officials, academics and international experts, with a focus on regional security, trade and energy corridors, technology, and shifting global power dynamics.

The forum takes its name from Hili, a UNESCO World Heritage archaeological site in the UAE that is home to the Grand Tomb, a monument more than 4,000 years old.

The forum, co-organised by the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research (ECSSR) and the Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy (AGDA), is being held under the theme “Gulf at Crossroads: Conflict, Consequences and Course Correction.”

In his welcoming remarks, Dr Sultan Al Nuaimi, Director General of the Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research (ECSSR), highlighted how developments in the Gulf can have consequences far beyond the region, particularly through their impact on energy, trade and strategic waterways.

“The Gulf has never been a geographical margin or simply a regional space whose impact remains within its borders,” he said.

“The Strait of Hormuz embodies this reality. It is not an ordinary passage, but a point where the interests of global energy and international trade converge, and where a security incident in the region can quickly produce economic consequences that cross borders.”

Al Nuaimi said the challenge was to move beyond responding to successive crises and towards longer-term cooperation.

“Either the international response remains confined to dealing with the consequences of successive crises, or we move towards a vision that reflects the Gulf’s importance to the stability of the international system.”

Nickolay Mladenov, Director General of the Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy (AGDA), similarly highlighted the wider challenge facing the international system, arguing that conflicts increasingly extend beyond the battlefield into trade, investment, energy and food security.

“The world has never been more connected,” he said.

“Yet politically, strategically, and psychologically, societies are fragmented. We are living in an interconnected world that is losing the habit of cooperation.”

Against this backdrop, Mladenov said the Gulf faced a choice over how it responds to growing global fragmentation.

“The challenge for the Gulf is not simply whether it can withstand an age of fragmentation. The challenge is whether it can remain a source of connection when fragmentation is becoming the organising principle of international relations.”

He added that the UAE’s experience demonstrated the importance of dialogue and building relationships across divides.

“Influence is not measured only by economic size or military power. It is measured by the ability to convene, to connect, and to build trust across divides.”

Further, these wider questions were taken forward during the session “Gulf Regional Security Complexes”, moderated by Dr Mohammed Al Dhaheri, Deputy Director General of the Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy (AGDA). The discussion examined how Gulf states can move beyond temporary responses to recurring regional security challenges.

The session explored the changing nature of threats to strategic waterways, Gulf cooperation, maritime security, and the need for longer-term approaches to regional stability.

Dr Majed Al Ansai, Advisor to the Prime Minister and Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Qatar, said developments in the Gulf have global economic and security implications, while highlighting the region’s resilience.

“Coming out of this crisis, I think the Gulf has proven always that it can withstand, that it can continue, and that it can thrive in the face of a crisis.”

Muath Alwari, Director of Policy Planning at the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, UAE, said Gulf states had long shared an understanding of regional threats, but recent developments had tested their ability to respond collectively.

“Most importantly, I think it relates to our ability as Gulf states to translate our common understanding of the threat into cohesive action.”

Vice Admiral John Miller, former (retired) US Navy, President and CEO of The Fozzie Miller Group, USA, said emerging threats were making strategic waterways increasingly difficult to protect and stressed that naval power alone was not enough.

He added that diplomatic and economic measures must also form part of the solution.