There is an age old adage should the company do as much as possible internally or should they have partners. There is no perfect answer and every time there is a crisis, part of the solution is to do it more internally.

In an article from Reuters, the UAE or United Arab Emirates is building alternative routes for its energy exports and trade to ensure they are not held hostage by the continuing war between the US and Iran said presidential advisor Anwar Garash.

The UAE is located in the Middle East and much of its income comes from oil and gas. In the middle of the Strait of Hormuz, the land to the west is the UAE, the east is Oman. The country shares an interesting border with Oman, the land closest to the Strait of Hormuz is Oman, but it stops after 200 miles, becomes the UAE for 500 miles and becomes Oman again or Oman is split into two parts.

The conflict has a significant impact on the Gulf States including the UAE so alternatives are being done – the UAE is expanding port capacity along its eastern coast as well as developing pipelines, railways and alternative trade routes for alternative corridors. (The only issue is infrastructure typically takes years to build out, but it is possible).

The UAE says our security is our first priority. When we depend entirely on others, we cannot always assume it will be their top priority.

The waterway status remains a central obstacle in negotiations between Iran and the US, mediated by Qatar and Pakistan, with Iran claiming the Strait of Hormuz belongs to Iran and Oman – a position Gulf states broadly reject.

Freedom of navigation is not a concession to be granted, nor a principle to be renegotiated under pressure. Any long-term peace resolution must include credible guarantees against further Iranian attacks on Gulf Arab states.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, there is nothing like a crisis to change long established methods to do something. We all do things for a period and accept them the way they are, then comes a crisis or prices go up and we all look for alternatives of something less expensive. It is the start of many companies in the past and will be the start of many companies in the future. How can something be done better and less expensive while allowing good margins?

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.