Unlocking the Gulf's Full Industrial Potential Through Cross-Border Integration

This week, ministers, manufacturers and investors from across the Gulf gather in Bahrain for the inaugural Made in GCC Forum. Discussions range from artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing to financing, regional value chains and supply-chain resilience. Yet, perhaps the most important question is contained in the forum’s name, asking what it really means for something to be "Made in the GCC".

For the past two decades, Gulf countries have built increasingly ambitious national industrial strategies. The results are visible from advanced manufacturing in the UAE and Saudi Arabia to petrochemicals in Qatar, aluminium in Bahrain and new minerals and logistics investments in Oman. However, the region is not living up to its full potential, and the real opportunity lies in connecting these strengths.

The economic case is compelling. The Gulf’s combined gross domestic product reached $2.3 trillion in 2024, which would make it the world’s ninth-largest economy if treated as one, ahead of Canada, Brazil and Russia. Its 61.5 million people generate an average GDP per capita of about $38,000. Commercial banks hold $3.9 trillion in assets, while 13 GCC sovereign wealth funds collectively manage more than an estimated $4.5 trillion, representing considerable economic firepower.

Each nation brings unique assets to the table. Saudi Arabia brings scale, an expanding industrial base and enormous demand generated by its transformation programmes. The UAE brings world-class logistics, technology, finance, aviation and access to international markets. Qatar adds formidable gas, energy and petrochemical capabilities. Oman combines minerals and industrial land with ports facing directly onto the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean. Bahrain has developed specialised manufacturing, particularly in aluminium, alongside a sophisticated financial sector, while Kuwait brings substantial capital, energy capabilities and one of the world’s oldest sovereign investment institutions.

Geography makes the proposition even more interesting. The Gulf sits between Asia, Africa and Europe, with maritime access in several directions. Ports on the Arabian Gulf connect it eastwards towards Asia; Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea ports provide access towards Africa, the Mediterranean and Europe; and Oman’s ports provide direct access to the Indian Ocean without passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

The lesson from recent disruptions is that every Gulf country does not need to become entirely self-sufficient. Six countries attempting to duplicate factories, warehouses and data centres would be an expensive definition of resilience. Instead, integration creates a powerful alternative where an industrial product's components, minerals, and technology are sourced from across the region and exported via the most efficient route.

An International Monetary Fund study found that more than a quarter of investment into Gulf economies originates elsewhere in the region, and the medium-term effect of inward cross-border investment on real non-hydrocarbon GDP is about three times greater than equivalent domestic investment. Artificial intelligence makes regional collaboration even more achievable by enabling a Gulf-wide industrial platform to map imports, forecast demand and expose supply-chain vulnerabilities.

Ultimately, governments should focus on making the region function like one industrial marketplace through common standards, interoperable regulation, connected infrastructure and the open movement of capital, goods, data and specialist talent. The most important products of this evolution will be those that say: Made across the GCC.