Fidan promotes Gulf–Europe corridor through Syria and Turkey

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has renewed Ankara’s push for a transport and energy corridor connecting the Gulf with Europe through Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria and Turkey. The proposed route places Turkish territory at the centre of regional connectivity while leaving Greece and Cyprus outside the network promoted by Ankara.

Speaking about Syria’s future role, Fidan presented the country as the connecting point between the Gulf, Iraq and Europe. “There is a Syria that connects to the Gulf through Jordan and Saudi Arabia, to Iraq and the East, and to Europe through Türkiye,” he said.

“We want this to be realized not only on the map but also in practice, through railways, highways and pipelines that will be built. There is currently a railway project underway, a route that Türkiye, Syria and Saudi Arabia are working on, connecting Syria to both the Gulf and Europe. We have intensive work underway on this as well,” the Turkish foreign minister added.

The project itself was not announced for the first time in these remarks. Turkey, Syria and Jordan have already held discussions on restoring rail and road links, while Ankara and Riyadh have examined the revival of sections associated with the historic Hejaz Railway. Fidan’s latest statement therefore represents a renewed political push for an existing Turkish-led plan, rather than the announcement of an entirely new corridor.

The route envisaged by Ankara would move goods and potentially energy supplies from Saudi Arabia and the wider Gulf through Jordan and Syria before entering Europe through Turkey. Its implementation would strengthen Turkey’s ambition to become the principal land gateway between the Gulf and European markets.

This model does not follow the Eastern Mediterranean connectivity framework supported by Athens and Nicosia. Greece has openly sought a central European role in the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor, presenting its ports and infrastructure as a gateway between India, the Middle East and the European Union. Cyprus has also promoted its geographic position and relations with India, Israel and the EU as part of broader regional transport, energy and digital connectivity plans.

Ankara has opposed regional corridor designs that exclude Turkish territory. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan previously declared that “there is no corridor without Turkey,” setting out the Turkish government’s objective of ensuring that major trade routes toward Europe pass through the country.

Fidan’s proposal follows precisely that Turkish strategy: a Gulf–Europe axis centred on Syria and Turkey, instead of an Eastern Mediterranean architecture that could increase the strategic and economic weight of Greece and Cyprus. This does not mean that the Turkish project formally replaces or cancels IMEC, but it constitutes a separate and competing route through which Ankara seeks to establish Turkey as the indispensable European outlet for Gulf trade.