UAE, South Korea to boost trade, logistics ties. PLUS: More trade cooperation between Iraq and Azerbaijan, Iraq and Spain, Iran and Belarus, and Egypt and Greece

UAE + South Korea boost trade + logistics cooperation: The UAE and South Korea agreed to enhance and broaden economic collaboration and bolster mutual investments in 11 sectors, including trade and logistics, during the eighth session of the UAE-South Korea Joint Economic Committee, according to astatement.

South Korea’s been boosting its involvement across MENA: South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport (MOLIT) signed two MoUs in Maywith Saudi Arabia to deepen cooperation on future mobility and roads. South Korean shipping giant HMM also recently launched a new shipping line connecting the MENA region with markets in the Far East, India and the Mediterranean regions. South Korea’s Incheon Port Authority (IPA) also recently launched a regular container sea route connecting the port with Jebel Ali in the UAE, in the first direct shipping service connecting the port with the Middle East in five years.

Iraq and Azerbaijan discuss establishing an air route connecting Baku to Baghdad: Iraq’s foreign minister Fuad Hussein met with Azerbaijan’s transport minister Rashad Nabiyev in Baku, Azerbaijan where the two discussed the importance of strengthening transport and aviation links, INA reports.

In addition to a Baku-Baghdad aerial route, both sides mulled the establishment of a secondary route linking Erbil in Northern Iraq and Baku, INA said. Also on the agenda were efforts to streamline entry for Iraqi nationals wishing to visit Azerbaijan and plans for a visit by Nabiyev and Azerbaijani trade officials to Baghdad in October.

Iraq and Spain’s transport ministers discussed lifting the European air embargo on Iraqi airlines, Iraqi News Agency (INA) reports. The ministers explored avenues for cooperation, including the development of transportation infrastructure such as roads and the Grand Faw Port. They also addressed cooperation in maritime transport and ports.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and his Belarusian counterpart Sergei Aleinik discussed boosting economic and trade cooperation on Thursday, according to Iran’s state-aligned Tasnim news agency. The pair discussed building on agreements — covering trade, transport, and agriculture — inked by both countries during a visit by Belarus’ President Alexander Lukashenko to Iran in March. They also debated putting in place a “roadmap” for cooperation as well as measures to boost bilateral trade and collaborate on industrial projects, transportation, and transit.

Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority (SCA) head Osama Rabie and Greece’s Maritime Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis discussed strengthening cooperation and joint coordination between the two countries at the Arab-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce and Development conference, last week, according to an SCA statement.