Good morning, lovely people. It’s the accidental electric and autonomous vehicle issue today, with several stories coming out of the UAE from those two departments.

THE BIG LOGISTICS STORY- Agility’s Menzies Aviation continues expansion spree:Agility’s Menzies Aviation has expanded into Eastern Europe with a fresh majority stake acquisition inCargo Handling Services at Sofia International Airport in Bulgaria. It also formed a JV to Bangalore International Airport to expand air cargo services at Kempegowda International Airport Bengaluru.

HAPPENING TODAY-

WATCH THIS SPACE-Trade will get special attention at this year’s COP28 summit: International trade will be given prominence during COP28 later this year, marking the first time trade will be discussed “as a specific theme” at the annual climate conference, according to a statement by the World Trade Organization (WTO) last week. The WTO Secretariat is invited by the UAE Economy Ministry and the UAE Climate Change Special Envoy’s Office to co-lead the COP28 Presidency Committee on trade, bringing together the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the International Chamber of Commerce, the World Economic Forum, and the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development to help outline discussions on trade during the program. It will be subject to a dedicated day set for 4 December under the COP28 Presidency Thematic Program.

Kurdistan has been handing over some 50k-60k barrels per day (bbl / d) of oil to Iraq’s state owned marketer SOMO since mid-June as a means to comply with new Iraqi regulations, Kurdistan24 quotes Kurdish Regional Government President Diwan Omed Sabah as saying. This comes after several back and forthdiscussions, and delays that halted some 450k bbl / d in oil exports from Kurdistan to Turkey.

REMEMBER-Iraq halted crude exports from the Kurdish region after a court ruled in its favor in a nine-year arbitration dispute against Turkey over Kurdish oil exports.

The Kuwaiti National Petroleum Company has made its first 35k-ton shipment of 95 octane motor fuel and low-sulfur fuel oil to European markets, Kuwait News Agency(KUNA) reports. The shipment was exported from Mina Al Ahmadi and loaded on the “Pacific Sarah” oil tanker.

Pakistani businesses can now source LNG directly from Qatar under a new policy announced by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif,Business Recorder reports. “Because LNG rates at present are very low, the federal government has developed a policy under which private companies shall directly purchase LNG cargoes from Qatar,” Sharif said. “The government would provide all facilities at the Karachi Port,” he added.

Addressing Pakistan’s gas shortage: State-owned Pakistan LNG has thus far been responsible for buying, importing, storing and distributing LNG to buyers in Pakistan, though the outlet reports it has failed to procure enough cargoes over the past months. The country has not procured any spot cargoes of LNG for about a year, since global prices rose following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and has since been facing a severe shortage of gas, Reuters reports.

DATA POINT #1- Customs transactions handled by Dubai Customs rose 10% y-o-y to 14 mn in 1H 2023, Emirati news agency WAMreports. Customs declarations totaled 12.3 mn — making up 88% of the total number of customs transactions.

DATA POINT #2- Jordan’s Queen Alia International Airport saw a 6.8% y-o-y increase in cargo handled to 31.1k tonnes in 1H 2023, The Jordan Times reports, citing data from Airport International Group. Aircraft movements also spiked 18.1% y-o-y to 37.3k during the same period. The airport alsowitnessed a 33.9% increase in the number of passengers handled to 4.3 mn.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDARS- The Enterprise Finance Forum is taking place on 18-19 September at the St. Regis Hotel in Cairo. This flagship forum is the latest in our must-attend series of invitation-only, C-suite-level gatherings that allow senior members of our community to openly and frankly discuss critical issues in key sectors of the economy.

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DID YOU MISS THE ENTERPRISE EXPORTS AND FDI FORUM? Tune in to the Enterprise Podcast and listen for yourself: The Enterprise Podcast is back with another installment of our forum series, where we bring you audio recordings of what was said on stage at the Enterprise Exports and FDI Forum,which took place in May.

WANT TO LISTEN? Head to: Apple Podcast | Spotify | Google Podcast | Anghami. We’re releasing a new episode every Sunday morning.

IN THIS WEEK’S EPISODE- We ask some of the biggest multinationals and suppliers operating here — namely, in logistics, e-commerce, and FMCG — what it is they’re looking for in a local partner, product or service and what are some of the pain points they’ve had to deal with. We were joined on that panel by Khaled Morsy, CEO of DB Schenker Egypt, Omar Elsahy, General Manager at Amazon Egypt, Tarek Kamel, Chairman and CEO of Nestlé Egypt and Sudan.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The UAE’s Finance Ministry is holding a digital public consultation on its website that began last Wednesday and runs until 2 August,as part of the UAE’s corporate tax freezone regulations,Emirati news agency WAM reports.The consultation aims to gather feedback from freezone-based companies, WAM added.

The Second Summit Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum will take place in Saint Petersburg, Russia this Thursday and Friday. The event will build on discussions in the last iteration of the summit, which took place in Sochi in 2019. It will also look to develop ties between Russia and partner countries in Africa, as well as African organizations such as the African Union.

Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Salem Al Sabah will visit Iraq by the end of the month,state-owned Iraqi News Agency reports, citing statements from the Kuwaiti ambassador to Iraq, Tariq Al Faraj. Al Faraj met with Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid yesterday to discuss ways to enhance bilateral cooperation and resolve outstanding issues.

Check out our full calendar at the bottom of this email for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events and news triggers.

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