Statement by H.E. Ambassador Ali BAHREINI before 73rd session of Trade and Development Board of UNCTAD

Agenda item 2: High-level segment The impact of Hormuz disruptions on developing countries: Energy food and development

Statement

by

H.E. Ambassador Ali BAHREINI

 Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations in Geneva

before

73rd session of Trade and Development Board of UNCTAD

Agenda item 2: High-level segment “The impact of Hormuz disruptions on developing countries: Energy, food and development”

Geneva, 14 September 2026

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بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم

Madam. President,
Madam Moderator De La Mora,

Allow me to congratulate, Madam President, Ambassador Fancy Too, on her election and to thank the secretariat for convening this high-level segment. We also appreciate the distinguished panelists for sharing their perspectives.

As demonstrated by UNCTAD reports, situation surrounding the Strait of Hormuz have once again shown how developments affecting a critical trade route might transmit its effects far beyond the immediate region through markets and supply chains. For developing countries, such spillovers may translate into wider economic and development pressures. A comprehensive assessment, however, cannot be limited to tracing these consequences. It must also take into account the circumstances and underlying causes that gave rise to them.

The current situation is the direct result of the unlawful military aggression committed by the United States and the Israeli regime against the Islamic Republic of Iran. It is therefore essential that any assessment of the resulting economic and developmental consequences explicitly recognize and take into account this fundamental cause.

The wider repercussions demonstrate that the costs of unlawful resort to force rarely remain confined to the immediate target. The international community should therefore use its collective influence to uphold international law and bring the recourse to aggression and unlawful use of force to an end.

Iran and Oman have made a lot of efforts to finalize an arrangement to restore the traffic of the Strait of Hormuz. A meeting was scheduled for today with the coastal states of Persian Gulf and Oman Sea to announce the details of the arrangement. We continue collaborations with Oman to expedite the necessary arrangements for the re-opening of the Strait of Hormuz.

Madam. President,
The Strait of Hormuz is of major significance to international trade and to the economies of the region. Beyond its importance for energy flows, it is a vital corridor for trade, connectivity and economic cooperation, and its stability and safe functioning constitute a shared economic interest for the region and the wider global economy. Preserving this role requires an environment of stability, predictability and respect for the legitimate interests and security of coastal States.

The lesson extends beyond Hormuz. Other critical nodes of international trade are similarly vulnerable, and disruption at any one of them can spread through transport, energy, food and other economic channels. Preventing the emergence and escalation of crises must therefore go hand in hand with strengthening the resilience of the global economy against shocks that may nevertheless occur.

For developing countries, such resilience must be inclusive. It should neither place disproportionate adjustment burdens on economies with limited fiscal space nor leave particular countries outside its benefits. Reliable supply chains, effective transport and logistics, stronger productive capacities and adequate access to development finance are essential in this regard.

Madam President,
The capacity to withstand new shocks is also shaped by existing external constraints. Unilateral coercive measures, together with physical impediments and legal or policy-based restrictions affecting access to markets, finance, payment channels, transport, insurance and technology, can weaken development prospects and leave affected economies more vulnerable to additional shocks.

Against this broader background, UNCTAD has an important role to play. Having rightly examined the development implications of the situation surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, we trust that, in the same balanced and development-oriented spirit, proportionate attention will also be given to these and other external impediments affecting developing countries and to their cumulative impact on development and economic resilience.

Such an approach would help ensure that the lessons drawn from the present experience are not confined to one crisis or one trade route, but contribute to a better understanding of how external disruptions are transmitted and how their development costs can be reduced.

In the meantime, and for the immediate situation, the priority is to address the root cause by bringing the unlawful military aggression to an end and ensuring respect for international law. Beyond the present matter, greater effort is needed to preserve an environment of stability and predictability around critical trade routes and to build a more inclusive and resilient global economy, so that developing countries are better able to withstand external shocks without bearing a disproportionate share of their economic and development costs.

I thank you.

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