Riyadh dialogue to drive global urban cooperation
RIYADH: The Arab European Cities Dialogue launched in Riyadh on Sunday, gathering more than 100 mayors from Arab and European cities, along with international organizations and development institutions.
Organized by Riyadh municipality under the theme 'City Partnerships for a Better Future,' the dialogue focuses on urban cooperation, livable cities, the environment, technology and digital transformation, and municipal financial sustainability.
At the opening, Riyadh Mayor Prince Faisal bin Abdulaziz bin Ayyaf, president of the Arab Urban Development Institute, highlighted the deep ties between Arab and European cities.
He emphasized how these centuries-old dialogues continue to influence the construction, administration, and sustainability of urban spaces.
Prince Faisal added that while cities face both shared and unique challenges, the forum focuses on common themes aimed at building more human-centered cities that enhance quality of life.
Running until May 13, the forum is organized with the Arab Urban Development Institute, PLATFORMA — part of the Association of European Municipalities and Regions — and the International Cooperation Agency of the Association of Netherlands Municipalities.
Riyadh's selection as the inaugural host highlights its growing regional and global urban influence and its key role in advancing municipal initiatives and international partnerships.
Fabrizio Rossi, secretary-general of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions, outlined his action plan: 'First, we are building a coalition of cities and universities to create an academic curriculum tailored to the needs of cities and local governments.
'Our ambition is to launch an international program on diplomacy and city-to-city cooperation with five leading universities.'
He also emphasized investing in young leaders through the Young Elected Officials Academy, a program that equips them to drive local change. The next edition will focus on artificial intelligence and digital transformation.
Key topics at the forum included the transformative role of cities and addressing barriers to environmental, social, economic, and cultural sustainability.
City diplomacy was another focus, highlighting the value of sharing expertise and resources across regions to achieve common goals.
Yousef Shawarbeh, mayor of Amman, Jordan, said: 'When we meet with city leaders, we find that the challenges faced by cities are the same, but their solutions must not be. We cannot transfer a solution from a European crisis to an Arab city, but we can benefit from the concepts used.'
Fatiha El-Moudni, mayor of Rabat, Morocco, discussed how each city brings unique opportunities for collaboration. 'I must mention our work with German cities on energy efficiency, with Italian counterparts on waste management and landfill revitalization, and of course, with French cities on various projects.'
She highlighted Rabat's partnership with Lyon on a sustainable urban mobility project, noting that Lyon supported the Rabat-Sale tramway from its initiation through its current expansion.
The sustainable mobility plan developed with Lyon in France is guiding preparations for the Africa Cup of Nations in 2025 and the FIFA World Cup in 2030.
El-Moudni explained: 'We've seen the impact on our citizens; it's literally changed their daily lives by offering a clean, efficient alternative to cars, reducing traffic and emissions, and improving air quality.'
Rabat's collaboration with Lyon exemplifies how north-south partnerships, built on mutual respect and exchange, can create resilient cities for future generations.
Emilia Saiz, secretary-general of United Cities and Local Governments, noted that exchanges between cities and territories have existed long before the formation of the League of Nations.
'This might be the first formal forum that we organize, but our relations go way back. Our movement is over 100 years old,' she said.
Saiz emphasized that the next step is not just exchanging experiences but co-creating solutions together.
'I think the worldwide movement of local and regional governments is actually ready to be defined together with quality-of-life needs. And this is something that Saudi Arabia is leading within the UN.'
She highlighted the important role of cities and local governments in determining what local services are needed to support quality-of-life growth, from investments to community services.
Talent, co-creation, and intergenerational dialogue are crucial in shaping these provisions, according to Saiz.
She also urged national governments and international institutions to recognize centralized cooperation as essential for multilateralism, saying a global network structure can develop concrete proposals for action.
'What I am offering is continuity,' she said. 'I would say for United Cities and Local Governments, we hope that together with the Arab Urban Development Institute and our European section, we can shape the contents of this dialogue and bring its influence to our World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology in Tangier next year.'
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Why the world can't afford a blockade in the Strait of Hormuz
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Al-Ansari noted that 'with Iran and Israel already in direct confrontation, the risk of escalation in this critical corridor is dangerously real. Iran sees the strait as its ultimate pressure point. Shutting it down would ignite a global oil shock, push inflation higher, and send vulnerable economies into panic.' Ajaka explained high oil prices would confront central banks worldwide with a dilemma over whether to lower or raise interest rates. He added insurance prices would rise, contributing to inflation, and that it would also cause disruptions in supply chains across several countries. 'In the case of Lebanon, for example, it would result in a complete electricity blackout, as the country relies entirely on fuel oil coming from Iraq,' he added. Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, moved 5.5 million barrels per day through Hormuz last year. That is 38 percent of total crude flows in the strait, according to tanker tracking data produced by the London-based real-time insights delivery firm, Vortexa. While the Kingdom has contingency pipelines, they are not a perfect solution. The East-West Pipeline, with a capacity of 7 million barrels per day, can divert crude to the Red Sea, but it is already running near full capacity due to recent Houthi attacks on shipping. The UAE's Fujairah Pipeline, with 1.8 million barrels per day capacity, is also heavily used, leaving little to spare. Iran's Goreh-Jask Pipeline, designed for 300,000 barrels per day, is barely operational, having handled just 70,000 barrels per day before shutting down in late 2024. If the Strait of Hormuz were blocked, the EIA said Saudi Arabia and the UAE could only reroute about 2.6 million barrels per day — far less than the 20 million that normally passes through. Given that the economies of most Gulf countries, particularly Saudi Arabia, rely heavily on oil exports, a closure of the Strait of Hormuz would deal a severe blow to their economic stability, according to Ajaka. 'The extent of the financial damage would hinge on how long the strait remains blocked, with prolonged disruptions likely triggering budget deficits across the region,' he said. For energy-hungry Asian economies, a blockade would be catastrophic. 'This narrow stretch carries nearly a third of the world's seaborne oil. Its closure would cripple global trade routes, choke energy supplies and slam the brakes on economic growth from Asia to Europe,' said Al-Ansari. China relies on the Strait of Hormuz for nearly half its crude imports. India, Japan, and South Korea would face severe shortages, forcing emergency releases from strategic reserves. Global shipping costs would explode as tankers would need to take longer routes around Africa. 'The first Asian economy to be affected by any closure of the Strait of Hormuz would be China,' said Ajaka. 'If the repercussions of the strait's closure spill over into multiple economies, it could lead to a global recession — posing another challenge in terms of how to revive the global economy.' The US is less vulnerable, importing only half a million barrels per day from the Gulf, equivalent to 7 percent of total US imports. But it would still suffer from skyrocketing global prices. Al-Ansari emphasized that the crisis is not merely about oil: 'It is about the fragile balance that keeps markets stable and societies moving.' Iran has historically threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz but has never done so. In a recent op-ed for Arab News, Abdulaziz Sager, founder and chair of the Gulf Research Center, said a full closure 'would harm Iran's own economy given that it relies on the waterway for its oil exports.' Despite Iran's heavy reliance on the waterway, Behnam Saeedi, a member of the parliament's National Security Committee presidium, was quoted by Mehr news agency on Thursday as saying a blockade remained on the table. 'Iran has numerous options to respond to its enemies and uses such options based on what the situation is,' he said. 'Closing the Strait of Hormuz is one of the potential options for Iran.' Mehr later quoted another lawmaker, Ali Yazdikhah, as saying Iran would continue to allow free shipping in the strait and in the Gulf so long as its vital national interests were not at risk. 'If the US officially and operationally enters the war in support of the Zionists (Israel), it is the legitimate right of Iran in view of pressuring the US and Western countries to disrupt their oil trade's ease of transit,' said Yazdikhah. However, it is not a decision Iran would take lightly. 'If Iran closes the Strait of Hormuz, it will undoubtedly lose economically and militarily,' said Ajaka. 'Any country that wants to wage war will lose if it does not have foreign currency reserves, as war depletes these reserves — preventing it from making the decision to close the strait. 'The only circumstances that might lead Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz are if it feels its regime is on the verge of collapse,' he added. As Iran already seems to have been backed into a corner, there is every chance it could take this final leap. As Al-Ansari said: 'Iran is already economically crippled and is facing an existential reality. The scenario of closing the strait should never be ruled out.' Past incidents have shown the global impact of regional events. In 2019, attacks on Saudi tankers near Fujairah and the Abqaiq drone strikes briefly cut 5 percent of the global oil supply. World powers, therefore, have a major interest in keeping the strait open. 'Any closure of the Strait of Hormuz would prompt military intervention by the US and the UK,' said Ajaka. On June 17, US officials informed The New York Times that Iran had positioned missiles and military assets for potential strikes on American bases in the Middle East if the US entered the conflict. Other officials also warned Iran could resort to mining the Strait of Hormuz in the event of an attack — a strategy designed to trap US warships in the Persian Gulf. In the event of a blockade, Ajaka suggested Western and Asian nations would likely tap into strategic petroleum reserves to mitigate immediate shortages. However, he added this would only provide temporary relief, as non-OPEC countries have already maxed out their production capacity, leaving OPEC members as the only potential source of additional supply. 'If the strait is closed and oil prices rise, oil-producing countries, including Saudi Arabia, may resort to halting production cuts and instead increase output to curb the sharp rise in prices,' he said. 'One other possible measure would be for the US to ease restrictions on oil-producing countries like Venezuela to increase oil supply in the market.' Nevertheless, Ajaka said: 'The core position of oil — and the fundamental reason for the necessity of security in the Middle East — is that the Arabian Gulf must remain the ultimate guarantor.'
