The Swedish Dialogue Institute for the Middle East and North Africa is a Swedish diplomatic mission based in Amman, Jordan with a general mandate to foster dialogue between Europe and the Middle East & North Africa. It does so through conferences, seminars, workshops and roundtables on various prioritised and timely topics engaging representatives of government, academia, civil society, and the private sector from both regions. Activities result in positive Swedish visibility in building and deepening cross-regional connections, as well as in concrete ideas and recommendations on how to deepen these ties, owned and taken forward by participants. The reporting period (June 2025 – June 2026) was marked by turbulence across the MENA region.
In particular, the United States- Israel -Iran war launched in February, and its extensive spillover effects across the Levant and the Gulf impacted planning, execution and opportunities for dialogue. Its course of action has highlighted the lack of comprehensive solutions to the region’s protracted conflicts, as well as the absence of regional security arrangements capable of preventing the recurrence of conflict and humanitarian crises.
While the war has meant far-reaching security, economic and humanitarian consequences for most countries in the region, disruptions to the Strait of Hormuz and growing risks around Bab el-Mandeb have transformed a regional security crisis into a significant challenge to global trade, energy supplies and food security. What began as a war cantered on Iran’s nuclear programme, its destabilising role through proxy networks, and the future of the regime evolved into a broader struggle over regional deterrence and, ultimately, control over the security of the region’s strategic maritime chokepoints.
More broadly, developments in the region point to a trend of global and regional actors turning away from rules-based solutions and international law, not just as relates to the use of force and transit passage, but also in relation to protecting humanitarian staff and non-combatants in conflict. In parallel to this, Syria’s bumpy road towards a peaceful and inclusive, political and economic transition has continued throughout the reporting period and has become a priority for international actors, and in particular for Türkiye, the Gulf states, Europe and the US.
