Kuala Lampur, May 30 -- For decades, oil has dominated discussions of energy security in the Gulf.

Today, however, a less visible but equally strategic resource is emerging as a critical vulnerability in the global economy: helium.

Often dismissed as a gas used for balloons and scientific experiments, helium is in fact one of the indispensable inputs of the modern technological age.

It is essential for semiconductor manufacturing, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), aerospace engineering, fibre optics, quantum computing, advanced manufacturing, and military technologies.

As the ongoing confrontation between the United States and Iran continues to disrupt shipping routes and commercial confidence in the Gulf region, the world is beginnin...