In 2004, the Syrian government led by Bashir Assad proposed a plan to turn Syria into a crossroads linking 5 Seas: the Mediterranean, the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea, the Red Sea, and the Arabian Gulf. Today, Türkiye and Syria have proposed an initiative dubbed the "Four Seas-Nine Corridors," aimed transforming Southwest Asia from a region of endless wars into a crossroads between Asia and Europe. On July 2, the Transport Ministers of Egypt and Türkiye, Kamel El-Wazir and Abdulkadir Uraloğlu respectively, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) committing “to strengthen cooperation on regional and international transport corridors, aiming to integrate transport networks linking Asia, Africa, and the Arab region”. The signing took place on the sidelines of the 5th Turkish Maritime Summit in Istanbul.
While Western media claim this was inspired by President Donald Trump's effort to find alternative routes for Persian Gulf shipping to avoid the Strait of Hormuz and to isolate Iran, This is a vision of the nations of the region that has been in discussion for some time and parallels the Schiller Institute’s Oasis Plan and Eurasian Land bridge proposals. Syrian President al-Sharaa presented the proposal to the informal European Union Summit held in Cyprus last April, but the project will not be built by the European Union or by the United States, but by the countries of the region in the interest of the region.
It includes building a network of development corridors (railways, oil and gas pipelines, related energy networks) linking the Mediterranean, Black Sea, Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf, with the Red Sea also coming into play. Among the corridors mentioned are:
*Gulf–Mediterranean Corridor defined by a line running through Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Jordan and terminating at the Banias terminal on the Mediterranean in Syria. Given the 125,000 bpd refinery already installed there, the terminal could be the nucleus of a major refinery and petrochemical complex.
*Iraq–Syria Corridor: Rehabilitation and expansion of the Kirkuk–Banias pipeline (closed since 1979.The Syrian Petroleum Company assesses 1.4 million bpd as technically feasible.
* Caspian–Anatolian Corridor linking Syrian infrastructure to the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP).
* Arab Gas Pipeline Modernization which includes a $1.2 billion rehabilitation of the Egypt–Jordan–Syria–Türkiye line, adding Egyptian, Cypriot, and Lebanese offshore gas to the portfolio and enabling Nabucco connection.
The rail and road projects envisaged involve the rehabilitation of the Syria railway, which has already begun with the restoration of the link with Türkiye. Discussions have already begun among Türkiye, Syria and Jordan to revive the historic Hejaz Railway to efficiently transport goods across Turkey, Syria, Jordan, and the Arabian Peninsula. Significant railway projects in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman, Iran and Iraq have either been completed, are under construction or are in the planning stages.
