Opinions

Canal of Shame: Gulf Crisis and Saudi Arabia’s Salwa Canal Project

 

The canal project is an expression of the hostility from Saudi Arabia against Qatar. This is also observed from the comments from the Saudi officials. Saud Al-Qahtani, an advisor of Saudi Crown Prince, Muhammad bin Selman, congratulated the Saudi people for the "canal project, which will turn the "terrorist Qatari state" into an island."

The Gulf crisis, which began in June 2017, is likely to have much deeper consequences in Middle East politics than it has originally anticipated. This is understood from the way blockading countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt have been developing their policies against Qatar. It is obvious that these countries do not have any intention to step back from their policies. One of the recent developments in this context is the canal project that Saudi Arabia is continuing along its land border with Qatar. Currently, bidders are filing their applications to participate at the construction of the canal. So far five international companies have applied to the project that will cost 750 million U.S. dollars.

 

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