The Middle East conflict has swiftly exposed economic vulnerability in the region

By Emilie Rutledge, Senior Lecturer in Economics, The Open University

At the end of 2025, the Gulf states received high praise for their economic resilience. According to reports by the World Bank and the World Economic Forum, the region was stable, modern and reliable.

Now the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – are watching on nervously. The economic damage done by what has become a regional conflict, bringing an abrupt loss of stability, could be huge.

Aside from Saddam Hussein’s foray…

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