Jordan possesses just twenty-six kilometres of coastline. That narrow strip at Aqaba, wedged between Saudi Arabia and Israel at the northern tip of the Gulf of Aqaba, is the Hashemite Kingdom’s sole window onto the world’s oceans. Yet it is precisely here, in September 2026, that The Economist’s second Regional Ocean Summit will convene policymakers, investors and scientists to shape the ocean agenda across the Middle East, Eastern Mediterranean and Red Sea.

The choice of venue is less paradoxical than it first appears. Jordan’s very constraints make it a credible convenor. A country that depends on a single port understands maritime vulnerability in ways that sprawling coastal states can afford to overlook. Aqaba is not merely a conference facility; it is a living case study in what happens when geography grants a nation just enough sea access to comprehend how much it stands to lose.

The timing carries its own weight. The Red Sea corridor, through which roughly twelve per cent of global trade passes, has endured years of disruption. Houthi attacks on commercial shipping forced the rerouting of cargo around the Cape of Good Hope, inflating transit times, insurance premiums and freight costs. The October 2025 Gaza ceasefire brought a pause, but the escalation of the US–Iran conflict in 2026 has reignited the threat. Houthis have announced a renewed ban on Israeli vessels and the Strait of Hormuz itself has been effectively closed since February. For Jordan, whose economy breathes through Aqaba, these........

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