As the crisis in the Middle East deepens, disruptions to the movement of oil and gas in the region continue to make headlines and send global economic shockwaves. But with trade impacts also already starting to be felt through strategically important hubs and corridors for the transport of goods – including the 2.8% of global container transport that passes through the Strait of Hormuz – governments in the region are pro-actively taking measures to ease trade and transport impacts with the help of the UN TIR Convention.
The Convention provides the world’s only global customs transit system for the international transport of goods.
Use of TIR in the Middle East
Qatar’s Chamber of commerce has called on shipping companies to register with TIR, while Kuwait’s customs authorities are actively discussing TIR activation. All Gulf states are Party to this fast growing global agreement, whose membership stretches across Europe and Asia, and beyond.
Transport companies are actively exploring alternative routes through the region. Land transit options to Türkiye via Iraq, Syria or Jordan provide further opportunities under TIR.
At the same time, proposals are emerging to combine maritime and overland transport routes between the Gulf and the Red Sea, which could create additional possibilities for multimodal transit operations under the TIR framework. (....)