Good morning, friends. Things have quieted down in the logistics world since we last wrote to you, but we do have a few interesting updates on the shipping and trade fronts.

THE BIG LOGISTICS STORY- Adnoc Logistics & Services has marked its entry into Iraq with the delivery of a jack-up barge serving Iraqi customers with offshore support services. Meanwhile, we have a big read on the size of global trade volumes in 1H 2023 and in-depth outlook for the rest of the year from the World Trade Organization.

^^ We have everything on these stories and more in the news well, below.

SIX DAYS TO GO until we see some of you at the Enterprise Finance Forum, which takes place 18-19 September (Monday and Tuesday) at the St. Regis Hotel on the Nile Corniche. This flagship forum is the latest in our must-attend series of invitation-only events, where CEOs, bankers, investors, founders, and corporate leaders will meet to discuss the trends shaping the future of banking, finance, NBFIs, and fintech — and of their clients.

What to expect: Join Sherif El Behery (CEO and managing director, MDI), Mohamed Mounir (deputy CEO, ValU), Tarek Shahin (chief investment officer, CI Asset Management), Himanshu Shrimali (co-founder and CEO, Menthum), Amro Abou esh (founder, Maseera), Kamel Saleh (CEO, Grant Thornton Egypt) and many others for talks on everything from where the talent in our industry can be found, whether NBFIs are a bubble and the state of finance’s professional services firms.

Tap or click here to view the FULL AGENDA with SPEAKERS.

There will be plenty of parking available at the venue for all those attending.

We are honored to count some of the region’s most important financial institutions as

our partners for this special event. The Enterprise Finance Forum could not take place without the support of our partners including Banque Misr, Al Baraka Bank, FAB Misr, HSBC, Mashreq, CI Capital, Global Corp, Visa, Hassan Allam Utilities, the IFC, and Post for Investment.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK-

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has pledged to work with the UAE, KSA, and Iraq on a new logistic s corridor megaproject announced at the G20 summit, Alarabiya reported. “We hope that the port and railway project will work hand-in-hand with the Belt and Road Initiative,” Erdogan reportedly said in statements carried by Reuters and cited by Alarabiya.

ICYMI- The G20 summit in Delhi, India saw leaders from the US, India, the GCC, and the EU ink an MoU for the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), a major logistics infrastructure project that seeks to establish rail and maritime connections between Europe and India via MENA. The American-led initiative looks to counter Chinese influence by proposing a Western-backed alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

SPEAKING OF ERDOGAN- The Turkish president’s planned visit to Iraq has been postponed — again: A planned trip to Iraq byTurkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has reportedly been postponed yet again, informed sources told Asharq Al Awsat, citing disputes over oil exports, water, and security. Officials in the Iraqi government have denied that Erdogan’s trip, which was scheduled for October following an initial delay from August, has been “canceled,” and are reportedly continuing to prepare for the visit, the news outlet writes.

The countries are still not seeing eye to eye: The trip was put off due to slow progress in reaching a compromise on damages Turkey has been ordered to pay Iraq in a landmark arbitration decision. Turkey is asking Baghdad to exempt Ankara from paying the USD 2.6 bn in compensation in return for resuming oil flows, the news outlet writes. Turkey has also filed a lawsuit demanding compensation of over USD 900 mn, the outlet writes.

Refresher: Turkey halted imports from northern Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) after a 25 March arbitration ruling by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) deemed the transfers illegal.

Egypt is on an airport upgrade streak: Egypt’s Civil Aviation Minister Mohamed Abbas Helmy has announced several upgrades at airports across the country, including Cairo International Airport, St Catherine Airport, Berenice International Airport, and Burj Al Arab Airport.

A study for the construction of Terminal 4 at Cairo International Airport is currently underway, courtesy of the Airports Holding Company, which will help provide the financing needed for the project alongside other partners, Al Mal writes.

Other expansions: Helmy also announced that Alexandria’s Burj Al Arab Airport will open a new environmentally friendly building early next year, which should increase its capacity from 1.5 mn to 6 mn passengers annually, according to a tweet by Asharq Business. Development and expansion work at Sinai’s St Catherine Airport is set to be completed by April 2024, Al Mal quotes Helmy as saying. The EGP 3 bn upgrade aims to increase the airport’s passenger capacity from 80 to 600 per hour and allow it to accommodate 11 aircraft instead of three, the outlet writes.

AND NOW OPEN- The EGP 2.3 bn Berenice International Airport in Marsa Alam — which can accommodate eight aircraft and 600 passengers an hour — is now ready to receive all flights, Al Mal reported separately.

(xxBE) Moves to unclog truck traffic at the Egypt-Sudan border: Egypt’s General Authority for Land and Dry Ports has created two mini logistics zones in Wadi Karkar and Abu Simbel to reduce the pile up of trucks and cars at the Arqin and Qastal border crossings between Egypt and Sudan, Egypt’s Transport Ministry said Thursday. The zones will speed up the provision of key supplies such as water, food, and medical aid to civilians in the conflict-hit country, the statement reads.

OVER IN LIBYA- Libyan authorities arrested nine people for attempting to smuggle 100 k liters of diesel fuel on a vessel off the coast of Zuwara in western Libya, the Libyan Attorney General’s Office said in a statement on Saturday. The suspects confessed to transporting the diesel fuel and said that this was not the first time they had conducted such an operation. They are now held in pretrial detention, the statement added.

WATCH THIS SPACE- Railway link between Iraq and the GCC not yet in the cards: There are no plans at present to establish rail links between Iraq and the GCC as part of the Iraq’s Development Road project, with current designs limited to connections with Turkey as a conduit to Europe, an Iraqi Transport Ministry spokesman reportedly told Iraqi News Agency (INA). Any plans for the future development of railway connections to the GCC hinge on the successful completion of Al Faw Port and the Development Road and the presence of excess capacity at Al Faw and Umm Qasr ports, the same official noted.

ON THE GLOBAL FRONT- Russia won't budge on conditions for returning to Black Sea grain agreement: Russia says it is sticking to its demand for its state agricultural bank to be reconnected to the international bank payments system Swift before it can rejoin the Black Sea agreement, Reuters reports. Russia says that its grain and fertilizer exports, while not subject to explicit sanctions, have been facing barriers due to sanctions affecting port access, ins., logistics, and payments, including the removal of its agricultural bank Rosselkhozbank from Swift.

Moscow not impressed by UN proposal: Russia has dismissed a proposal by the UN for a Luxembourg-based subsidiary of Rosselkhozbank to apply to be connected to Swift “to effectively enable access” for the bank within 30 days. “The agreements say that Swift should be open to Rosselkhozbank, and not to its subsidiary,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to the outlet. “All our conditions are perfectly well known. They do not need interpretation, they are absolutely concrete and all this is absolutely achievable,” Peskov said, adding that “moment they are fulfilled, then the agreement will immediately resume.”

NON-LOGISTICS REGIONAL HEADLINES-

  • UAE: UAE-headquartered hypermarket chain and mall operator Lulu Group International expects to launch its IO in 1H2024, with its shares to be listed in the Gulf, its chairman said on the sidelines at an event in New Delhi, without specifying the exchange. (Reuters)
  • KSA: Saudi Arabia is considering setting up a sovereign wealth fund office in India’s International Finance Tec-City (GIFT), which is a tax neutral financial services center, Saudi Investment Minister Khalid Al Falih told India’s Trade Minister Piyush Goyal. (Reuters)

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

London International Shipping Week (LISW) kicked off yesterday and will run till Friday 15 September in London, UK. The event is held under the themes of compliance, decarbonization, business and technology, security, and skills. The week-long cluster event will include seminars, conferences, and product launches. It brings together leaders and professionals from the global shipping industry, including ship owners, brokers, traders, regulators, and other stakeholders to network and share expertise and knowledge on the maritime sector.

The Belt and Road Summit will be taking place on 13-14 September at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Emirati news agency WAM reports. The event, hosted by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Hong Kong Trade Development Council, will bring together government officials and business leaders from countries and regions along, and beyond, the Belt and Road to cooperate and explore potential business avenues. The summit will have Middle East-focused sessions with the aim of exploring cooperation in urban transport, infrastructure projects, renewable energy, logistics, and technology.

The Libyan Moroccan Forum for Trade and Business is starting today in Tangiers, Morocco and will run till Thursday. The event will be held in partnership with the Libyan Export Development Centre and with support from the Libyan Economy and Trade Ministry. The event aims to connect Libyan and Moroccan suppliers, exporters, chambers of commerce, and freezones with Maghreb and African markets, General Manager of Outbox Team event management company Yassine Bousrewil told the Libya Herald. The event will bring together some 100 business and commercial leaders from Libya to enhance trade and economic exchange between the two countries.

The Sustainable Transportation and Legacy for Generations Conference and Exhibition, which is organized by Qatar’s Transport Ministry and sponsored by Qatar Airways Group, Mwani Qatar, and QNB, will take place on 17-18 September at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre, Gulf Times reports. The event will cover transportation sector trends, strategies for eco-friendly transit systems, and Qatar's role in global aviation. The conference will include six panel discussions featuring over 20 speakers from various transportation entities.

The Global Trade and Supply Chain Summit is taking place on 19-20 September at the Address Dubai Marina Hotel, UAE. The event, hosted by Economist Impact, will bring together some 500+ business and supply chain leaders, high level government representatives, and policymakers to discuss the implications of trade policy, business logistics, supply chain diversification from China, sustainability, product traceability, digital trade, customs compliance and evolution, supply chain resilience, and trade in emerging regions, among other topics.

The Saudi Maritime Congress will take place at Dhahran Expo in Dammam, Saudi Arabia on 20-21 September. The event will bring together regional and international professionals from the maritime, shipping, and logistics sectors to meet, network, and do business with some 120 leading maritime exhibitors.

Shaping the Future of Shipping Summit , organized by the International Chamber of Shipping, will take place on 9 December in the UAE. The event will bring together governments and leaders in energy, maritime, and all parts of the supply chain to discuss plans to address climate change and help transition the industry towards sustainability.

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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