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| Journalist Sameh Selim – Member of the American Press Agency |
Strategy of Connecting Continents to Achieve Peace
By journalist Sameh Selim – Member of the American Press Agency
Achieving genuine global peace begins with economic interests and the protection of those interests. This is closely tied to linking continents through new strategic land corridors, especially in cases where traditional strategic maritime straits and routes are closed due to wars in certain regions or because of maritime, environmental, or other disasters.
What is happening now in the American–Iranian–Israeli conflict is a clear example of this, with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz leading to disruptions in maritime navigation, oil and gas flows, and global trade. I have previously written about the need to adopt alternative routes to be used in extreme necessity—such as massive bridges over waterways, tunnels beneath them, or railway lines connecting continents. These would allow people around the world to move more freely, easily, and quickly between countries—potentially within minutes—and at lower costs. This would reduce pressure on maritime and air transport, lower shipping costs, and consequently decrease insurance costs.
Ease of movement brings numerous benefits, including social, commercial, tourism, and economic advantages of the highest order. It allows civilizations to meet, interact, and invest more easily across regions, thereby strengthening international economic and cultural cooperation.
There are already major projects under discussion, some of which have begun implementation, while others remain under study. Examples include linking Asia and Africa through the King Salman Bridge, which would extend from Saudi Arabia to Egypt across the Strait of Tiran, and the proposed Gibraltar Tunnel connecting Africa and Europe between Spain and Morocco. Another idea currently being considered—contingent on a peace agreement between Iran, regional countries, and the United States—is the construction of a massive suspension bridge over the Strait of Hormuz to connect Central Asia, China, and Russia with the Gulf states via Iran, or alternatively a tunnel beneath the strait. A similar concept is proposed for the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to strategically connect the Horn of Africa with Yemen on the opposite side.
Egypt and Turkey have already begun to capitalize on such opportunities by establishing new maritime routes from the Red Sea through the Suez Canal to the Bosporus and Dardanelles, reaching the Black Sea. Additionally, there is the Ro-Ro maritime transport agreement between Egypt and Italy, along with the development of seaports and railway networks linking the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.
In conclusion, peace cannot be achieved solely through political agreements. These agreements and treaties require a force to sustain and protect them—today, that force is economic power and shared commercial interests, rather than military might.
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