E-Paper
Sign In
'Era of one strait, one port is over': UAE official says after Hormuz disruptions
Bin Breik, the Ministry of Foreign Trade official, said that the future of trade in the UAE depends on being open and connected and diversifying supply chains
- PUBLISHED: Wed 17 Jun 2026, 11:40 AM UPDATED: Thu 18 Jun 2026, 10:04 AM
The era of moving trade through a single route, port, or strait is no longer viable, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Trade said.
“The conflict has not changed our plans. It's simply accelerated them,” Amer Bin Breik, Director of Future of Foreign Trade Department at the UAE Ministry of Foreign Trade, said. “The era of one strait, one port, one route is over.”
Recommended For You
At the same time, he added, the UAE’s economic vision remains unchanged both in scale and scope.
Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.
The official was speaking at the tenth edition of the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) Future of Trade report launch, which focused on ‘Rebuilding through Rupture.’
Bin Breik explained that the future of trade in the UAE depends on being open and connected, adding that “this means is diversifying our supply chains, removing single points of failure, and establishing multi-modal trade routes and multiple ports and logistics hubs.”
Disruption at the Strait of Hormuz
“At the midway point of 2026, we are still confronting the impact of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz to international shipping,” Bin Breik said. Since the start of the regional conflict, which has now come to a halt after all parties signed a conclusive peace deal, Iran has blocked this vital waterway as a response to US and Iranian attacks on its soil and on allied Hezbollah forces in Lebanon.
The UAE's Industry and Advanced Technology minister and Adnoc chief, Sultan Al Jaber, has consistently called out Iran for blocking the Strait, which has left many barrels of oil stranded for some time. Since the UAE has managed to move energy supplies through alternative routes.
Bin Breik, the ministry official, said during the report launch that the country quickly re-routed through existing ports to maintain its global connectivity.
“We rapidly re-routed trade through our east coast ports of Fujairah. We utilised Etihad Rail's 900-kilometre freight network to connect them to Khalifa Port, Jabal Ali and industrial zones across every emirate. We worked with our neighbours to activate new land routes through the Gulf of Oman,” he explained.
Hind Aldah is a business reporter based in Sharjah. In her spare time, you will find her playing classical guitar, painting amateur oil paintings, or crocheting the same old scarf that leads nowhere.