Commercial ties between the Gulf and Asia are deepening

Now, though, the Gulf’s rulers are eager to diversify their economies away from oil. Muhammad bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s de-facto ruler, wants 50% of his country’s non-oil GDP to come from exports by 2030, up from around 15% last year. He plans to achieve this by building new industries from carmaking and mining to tourism. The United Arab Emirates and other Gulf countries have similarly lofty goals.