Underlying Gulf's continued prosperity is its ever-deepening connectivity

At Etihad Rail's Al Faya Depot in Abu Dhabi. Rail connectivity will further deepen links between the six GCC countries. Victor Besa / The National

In the 14th century, the scholar Ibn Khaldun reasoned that civilisations rise when shared interests bind groups into a cohesive fabric – a principle that feels especially relevant today.

As 2025 draws to a close, it’s clear this has been a year in which the global economy has been recast by the search for reliability. Supply chains remain volatile, investment cycles are tightening, energy systems are evolving towards more predictable models, and capital is gravitating towards stable markets and defensive assets. In this environment, interdependence is becoming ever-more important. And it is more evident than ever here in the Gulf as national ambitions progressively intersect.

A lot has been written about the region’s infrastructure – ports, industrial zones, transport corridors and power projects. But beneath these assets exists another layer. The Gulf Co-operation Council has an interconnected economic network in which countries reinforce one another’s strengths and create new opportunities for talent, businesses and investors along the seams of their economies.

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This is one of the defining differences between the Gulf of the 1970s and that which is surfacing today. Infrastructure is still essential, but its role has evolved. It is no longer an objective in and of itself but has become the platform on which new industries and partnerships are born. More and more, the GCC’s global leverage stems from how these assets connect and complement one another.

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Take Oman for instance. Under Vision 2040, the country has followed a disciplined fiscal path while at the same time developing sectors that are critical to the future of the domestic – and regional – economy. Its green hydrogen valleys, low-carbon industrial clusters in Duqm and integrated minerals-to-manufacturing chains are part of a broader strategy to anchor regional value chains.

This model is underpinned by geography but not defined by it. Oman’s Indian Ocean orientation provides excellent connections to South Asia and East Africa, regions that will increasingly influence global demand in the coming decades. But this geographical advantage would not be competitive if it were not coupled with the long-term industrial vision and openness that make Oman a dependable node in the Gulf’s evolving economic architecture.

Oman’s approach is one of complementary dynamics – and it can be seen right across the GCC.

Saudi Arabia is building industrial capacity at unprecedented levels, giving the region new manufacturing depth. The UAE continues to expand its digital and clean energy platforms, creating connective systems that support investment across borders. Qatar is advancing its role in energy transition technologies and materials that will underpin future industrial growth. Each country is building various roads, and collectively they form a network that’s mutually beneficial – a vast highway of opportunity and capital.

The Gulf Co-operation Council has an interconnected economic network in which countries reinforce one another’s strengths and create new opportunities. AFP

As 2025 draws to a close, it’s clear this has been a year in which the global economy has been recast by the search for reliability

Importantly, it’s a network that’s as co-ordinated as it is broad, where individual national efforts intertwine. Earlier this month, the GCC approved the creation of a unified Civil Aviation Authority to harmonise regulation, certification and air navigation procedures regionwide. Alongside this, ongoing upgrades and investments to expand the GCC power grid interconnection are bolstering regional energy resilience. Progress on the Gulf Railway, as well as the rollout of a unified tourist visa, denotes growing co-ordination on mobility and services. These developments symbolise a region going from parallel strategies to more bonded economic pathways.

It is this fundamental shift that makes the Gulf’s present moment so globally significant. The region’s economic leverage is tilting towards network effects. And as this network matures, the Gulf becomes capable of offering something increasingly scarce in the global economy: stability. But not only stability – the ability to scale future industries across borders and into global growth corridors.

This combination presents a substantial opportunity for investors. It surpasses short-term returns from rapidly built assets, allowing them to participate in the construction of an economic system that will endure based on solid fundamentals: diversification and global integration.

Next year, the Gulf will be defined less by individual assets and more by the economic system it’s piecing together. Infrastructure will continue to matter, but what it enables will matter even more. In this, the region reaffirms what Ibn Khaldun observed centuries ago – that prosperity endures when cohesion holds it together.