The Iran-US ceasefire presents a critical opportunity for organisations to recalibrate plans and revisit processes in case the fragile peace is broken and conflict resumes in the Middle East, according to the Middle East Construction Risk Management Risk Briefings.
The Risk Briefings, held in virtual mode on 30 April by MEIR's sister publication Commercial Risk, pointed out that the organisations that take the time now to ensure they are ready to respond if hostilities resume, will be best placed to continue operations and gain an advantage over their competitors.
A speaker, International SOS General Manager for India and the Middle East Sebastian Bedu, said, “The Middle East ceasefire remains fragile. The key risk dynamics from the war remain and are very much alive.
“Organisations are not operating in crisis mode now but the environment remains unstable. Escalation could resume with very limited notice. So, this is a critical moment and should be seen as a window to prepare, rather than a moment to relax. Now is the moment to recalibrate plans. It is a time to review assumptions, strengthen processes and ensure that if conditions deteriorate again, decisions are made calmly and professionally rather than under pressure.”
“Preparedness built during this quieter moment is essential because it determines the resilience level that will emerge after the crisis and, if volatility returns, how we will respond. We see this first-hand with our clients,” he added.
A different type of challenge
“What matters here is not the sheer volume of activity. What is really important is the pace and the simultaneity. Everything was moving at once across multiple countries, across different risk domains, across multiple layers of decision-making. And again, everything in parallel,” said Mr Bedu.
“For organisations, this created a very different type of challenge. Most internal processes are designed to handle escalation step by step. What we saw instead was a convergence of events, compressing decision timelines and stretching resources and organisational capacity.”
Disruption today does not arrive neatly or manifest itself locally. It arrives across borders, across functions and often faster than we can respond and faster than internal systems are designed to absorb in terms of shock. This is precisely why preparedness, clear frameworks and access to trusted information matter so much.
The Middle East remains extremely complex – that is not going to change. But that complexity does not affect all organisations equally. Those that invest in preparedness, that build decision-making frameworks and that maintain clarity under pressure continue to operate and often outperform their competition.
The Briefings comprised three sessions with the themes, “Geopolitical Risk and PV Market Update - Preparing Projects for an era of persistent instability”, “Staff and Contractor Safety in Complex/Conflict Situations—Duty of Care Under Pressure”, and “Managing Risk & Insurance Exposures to Endure Project Stability—Best Practice Claims in a Crisis”.