Israel Expresses Concern Over Joint Turkey-Saudi Trade Corridor Project

According to the International Desk of Webangah News Agency, the Hebrew-language newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth has reported that Saudi Arabia and Turkey are moving towards the creation of a land-based trade corridor that would link Arab nations of the Persian Gulf to Europe through Syria and Jordan. This project effectively bypasses Israel and emerges as a competitor to the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), a project for which Israel is a principal supporter.

The cooperation between Turkey and Saudi Arabia means that goods exchanged between Asia and Europe would transit through Syrian and Jordanian territories to Turkey, without passing through occupied territories or relying on the port of Haifa. This initiative is seen as weakening Israel’s role in the central circle of trade between Asia and Europe.

In recent days, the transport ministers of Turkey and Saudi Arabia signed memorandums of understanding concerning railway and logistics cooperation. The competition between these two projects highlights a regional contest over the mapping of land routes.