Good morning, friends, and happy hump day. We have a brisk read for you today, heavily featuring trade updates from the region.

Leading today: Egypt is cementing its role as an indsespinsible regional energy hub, activating a gas corridor to the Levant by routing imported natural gas through Jordan to help stabilize the grids in Syria and Lebanon.

Meanwhile, a major reprieve is on the horizon for Egyptian heavy industries. We’ve learned that the EU is set to grant Egyptian exporters a two-year exemption from its carbon tax (CBAM) through 2027. This buys critical time for local steel, cement, and fertilizer players to decarbonize before some USD 317 mn in annual surcharges actually kick in.

Further afield, keep an eye on the UAE and Qatar AI play as they join “Pax Silica,” a US-led effort to secure the global semiconductor supply chain, as Gulf players embrace that ‘silicon statecraft’ in a bid to diversify their hydrocarbon-reliant economies.

Watch this space-

PORTS — Somalia’s government said it is annulling all of its contracts for ports, defense, and security with the UAE over what its Council of Ministers said were “actions undermining [its] national security,” Reuters reports, citing a government statement.

DP World has been working on developing the port of Berbera as part of a USD 442 mn concession in Somaliland, a breakaway region in Somalia, the independence of which was recently recognized by Israel in a move condemned by the UAE and other countries.

SUPPLY CHAINS — UAE and Qatar are about to plug into Washington’s silicon play. The two Gulf states are set to formally join Pax Silica, a US-led effort to secure AI and semiconductor supply chains, in the coming days, US Undersecretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg told Reuters. Qatar will sign the declaration today, while the UAE should be onboarded on Thursday.

Why it matters: For Gulf economies, the move marks a shift from hydrocarbon-centric security toward what Helberg calls “silicon statecraft” — focusing more on national AI and data infrastructure as a powerful economic tool.

Pax Silica is still in its early stages of formation, with the initiative currently focusing on expanding membership, building projects, and coordinating policies, Helberg said. The real test will be bringing the various countries involved — currently Israel, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Britain, the US, and Australia — into alignment with common policy frameworks and onboarding them across major strategic projects.

ZONES — Ain Sokhna adds 120k TEUs to its container handling capacity: Kadmar Group launched a USD 24 mn expansion to its logistics zone in Ain Sokhna Industrial Zone, according to a statement. The expansion expands the zone’s storage capacity by 34k tons per year to reach 50k tons.The first phase of the zone was launched in 2023.

That’s not all from Kadmar: Operations at Kadmar’s subsidiary Beit Logistics’ 65k sqmSafaga Port logistics center are scheduled to launch in 1H 2027. The hub will feature some 16k sqm of warehouse space, with a storage capacity of 1 mn tons annually. It will also host a 50k sqm container and general cargo yard capable of handling around 100k TEUs per year.

Market watch-

Oil prices rose this morning as concerns over disruptions to Iranian oil supplies continued to overshadow the possibility of resumed Venezuelan exports, Reuters reports. Brent crude futures were up USD 0.22 to trade at USD 64.09 / bbl as of 04:30 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose by USD 0.23 to USD 59.73 / bbl.

UPDATES FROM EGYPT- The gov’t is thinking about walking away from its oil price hedging program starting next fiscal year, a senior government official tells EnterpriseAM. The move marks a significant shift in how the state manages its exposure to global energy markets, moving away from expensive bank-led ins. contracts in favor of direct supply agreements.

For years, Egypt has tapped international banks to protect it against spikes in oil prices, but now, this ins. premium is no longer worth it, our source tells us. Last fiscal year, the Finance Ministry paid some USD 84.5 mn to hedge 55 mn barrels, but global prices stayed below the contract’s strike price. Furthermore, the consensus is that oil prices will continue to fall moving forward — with Brent crude averaging USD 61.27 a barrel in 2026, according to a recent Reuters poll.

Baltic index downward streak isn’t going anywhere: The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk sea freight index — which tracks rates for the capesize, panamax, and supramax vessel segments — declined 1.7% to 1,659 points on Monday. The capesize dipped by 2.5% to a six-month low at 2,574 points, while the panamax index went down 0.4% to 1,340 points, and the smaller supramax index eased 7 points to 960 points.

Data point-

519k –– that’s the volume of Middle East bbl/d exported to Europe in 2025, up from 497k bbl / d in 2024. Saudi Arabia led the push at 311k bbl / d –– nearly three times Kuwait’s 110k bbl / d. By contrast, jet fuel flows to Europe slid to a three-year low of 284k bbl / d –– with Kuwait leading jet shipments at 149k bbl / d.

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