Good morning, lovely people. We’re back with a busy issue, with updates from across the region on the rail, shipping, and diplomacy fronts. Let’s dive in.

THE BIG LOGISTICS STORY- Qatar’s QTerminals is part of a consortium in charge of building,financing, and operating a deep-water container terminal in Poland’s Świnoujście port for a 30-year period. Meanwhile, Egypt’s SCZone could roll out green methanol bunkering services sooner than expected.

HAPPENING TODAY-

The Canadian West Coast port strike ends with four-year agreement: Dock workers and employers at ports across Canada’s Pacific coast reached a tentative four-year agreement, ending a 13-day strike that disrupted a vital trade artery in Canada, Reutersreports. The agreement, facilitated by federal mediators, is now pending ratification by he British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) and International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU).

Supply chains will take weeks to recover: The strike affected operations at two of Canada’s three busiest ports, and is estimated to have disrupted around CAD 6.5 bn worth of cargo movement at the ports. Daily trade disruptions were estimated at around CAD 500 mn, based on the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters’ calculations. The Railway Association of Canada estimated that for every day the strike lasted, it would take three to five days for networks and supply chains to recover. Since the strike ended on the 13th day, rail container delays could last anywhere from 39 to 66 days, according to CNBC.

The disruptions also caused a nearly 50% plummet in rail trade with the US,CNBC reports. Intermodal Canadian rail fell 46.2% y-o-y last week, according to weekly rail trade data from the Association of American Railroads. The strike has affected various industries such as chemicals, forest products, oil, and non-metallic minerals.

Will the Iran-Iraq barter violate US sanctions? A barter agreement to swap Iraqi crude oil for Iranian gas as means to solve the issue of stalled payments, is likely to violate US imposed sanctions on Iran unless a waiver is issued by the US, Reuters cites three former US officials as saying. The agreement was implemented as a workaround that would allow Iraq to receive Iranian exports of gas without getting the US’ green light to pay Iran funds that it owed.

A “barter” is not a workaround per se, but it all depends on the size of the transactions, officials say: “The test is whether it’s a ‘significant’ transaction. The test is not whether it’s denominated in one currency or another or whether … it’s a barter,” said a former senior Treasury official, adding that it could provide “enough wiggle room … for the US to look the other way, but that is a political decision, that’s not a legal question.”

WATCH THIS SPACE #1- Iraq will soon issue tenders for its Development Road Project: Iraq’s USD 17 bn Development Road project is in its initial design stage, Director of General Company for Railways Younis Al Kaabi told state-owned Iraqi News Agency (INA). The ministry has received initial designs for the first section of the project, extending from Al Faw to Nasriyah, and is currently studying them ahead of issuing tenders to kickstart execution of the project, Al Kaabi told INA. The ministry is also at the “final stages” of signing a contract for the main road design with Italian company PEG, according to INA.

Turkish companies are also involved: Two unnamed Turkish companies have been selected to test and sample soil and survey the route of the planned railway, according to INA. The first company operates the area from Al Faw to Iraq’s Karbala city, while the second operates from Karbala towards the Iraqi-Turkish border, according to INA.

Iraq has also been in talks with the UAE:Iraq’s Transport Ministry also met with Emirati delegation represented by AD Ports and Etihad Rail to discuss possible avenues for Emirati

investments in Iraq’s transport sector, including the Development Road project, according to a Transport Ministry statement.

WATCH THIS SPACE #2- Russia is looking to use Iran’s railroad and port infrastructure to export its grain through the International North-South Corridor (INSTC), Sputnik quotes Iranian lawmaker Zabihollah Azami-Sardoui as saying. “In [the] future, Iran could be a corridor for transit of goods from Russia, including grain and many other products that are easier for transport through the south,” Sardoui said. Transportation via Iran would also come with lower costs in comparison with other routes, he added.

WATCH THIS SPACE #3- Egypt could get three new freezones: The General Authority for Freezones and Investment (GAFI) is looking into setting up three freezones in Alexandria, Tenth of Ramadan, and the Sixth of October, in response to investor demand, GAFI head Hossam Heiba said during a meeting yesterday.

Non-USD denominated trade on the table? The two sides also discussed using alternative currencies for trade, including the INR, as well as barter trading, and strengthening cooperation in healthcare, food, energy security, and supply chain resilience. The conference concluded with plans to hold the next edition in an Arab country in 2025, according to an Indian ministry statement.

WATCH THIS SPACE #4- SCZone + South Korea talk investments: Egypt’s Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) Chairman Walid Gamal El Din and South Korea’s ambassador to Egypt discussed potential avenues of trade, investment, and cooperation within the SCZone last week, according to a statement. The SCZone is looking to attract investors to localize the automotive industry, green fuel, ships’ bunkering, according to the statement.

An SCZone roadshow in South Korea willtake place in October to attract Korean investors to the zone, the statement added.

WATCH THIS SPACE #5-Saudi Arabia is looking to establish 59 logistical zones and increase capacity at its ports to more than 40 mn containers by 2030, Saudi news agency SPA quotes KSA’s Deputy Minister of Transport and Logistics Services Rumaih bin Mohammed Al Rumaih as saying. Al Rumaih indicated that the Kingdom’s strategy for transport and logistics heading into 2030 involves well-defined goals for maritime developments, which should see the country join the top 10 in the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index.

DATA POINT #1- Saudi ports’ container numbers recorded a 6.79% y-o-y increase in June, handling 685k TEUs, the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) said in a statement. Exported containers increased 9.9% y-o-y last month to 211.6k TEUs. Transshipments also increased some 9.9% y-o-y to 269k TEUs. Cargo volumes fell by 6.23% y-o-y to 25.3 mn tons. Vessel traffic increased by 4.75% y-o-y, with 993 ships berthing.

DATA POINT #2- The number of flights in Saudi Arabia’s aviation sector grew 11% y-o-y in 2Q 2023, on the back of new routes being introduced, Arab News reports. The number of flights rose to 34.3k during the quarter from 30.9k, with passenger numbers increasing 17% y-o-y to 3.7 mn. The average daily flights for the quarter reached 377.

DATA POINT #3- China’s trade in goods with Belt and Road countries rose 9.8% y-o-y in 1H 2023,Chinese news agency Xinhua reports. Belt and Road initiative country members — which include most MENA and GCC countries — made up 34.3% of China’s total import and export value of CNY 20.1 tn during the period. Its exports increased 3.7% y-o-y to CNY 11.5 tn, while imports witnessed a 0.1% y-o-y drop to CNY 8.64 tn, Xinhua reports.

DATA POINT #4- Egypt’s Ain Sokhna Port recorded a 23.2% y-o-y increase in cargo received to 5.2 mn tons in 4Q of FY 2022-23,according to astatement. The port also saw 27.3% y-o-y growth in the number of ships to 140 vessels during the same period.

MARKET WATCH-

Russia’s flagship crude oil, Urals, is approaching a price cap set by the G7 nations to limit funding for the war in Ukraine, Bloombergreports. If the price of Urals, which has reached USD 59.98 / bbl, surpasses USD 60 / bbl, it would demonstrate Russia’s ability to sell its oil globally without relying on Western companies, the business information service writes. The G7 measure permits Russian oil to be transported by Western vessels and receive ins., as long as it remains below the price cap. However, the sanctions have led to the emergence of a shadow fleet of tankers, enabling Russia to circumvent the cap.

Saudi Arabia imported a record 910k metric tons of cheap Russian fuel oil in June, a 10x increase from the previous year, Reuters reports. Saudi’s Russian fuel oil imports reached 2.9 mn metric tons in 1H 2023, a 75.4% y-o-y increase compared to the same period in 2022, the data showed. This surge in imports was driven by the need to meet heightened power generation demands during the summer while still maintaining crude exports despite the production cuts enforced by OPEC+, Reuters cites traders and analysts as saying. The majority of the fuel oil ends up in Saudi oil-fired power plants.

ICYMI: Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia announced its decision to extend the additional outputcut of 1 mn barrels per day for another month, extending into August, to support oil prices. Russia benefits from this growing trade with Saudi, amid Western sanctions limiting its access to key markets.

The Baltic index posted its first weekly gain in three weeks last week, despite its dip last Friday due to reduced demand for larger vessels, Reutersreports. The main index declined 1.2% on Friday, but achieved an overall weekly rise of 8%, its best performance since the week ending on 23 June. The capesize index experienced a 2.1% drop on Friday, but its weekly gain stood at 8.7%. The panamax index also fell 0.5%, but recorded its most substantial weekly increase (11.3%) since 7 April.

ENTERPRISE IS LOOKING FOR SMART, TALENTED PEOPLE of all backgrounds to help us build some very cool new things. Enterprise — the essential morning read on all the important news shaping business and the economy in Egypt and the region — is looking for writers, reporters and editors to help us build out new publications. Today, we run four daily Egypt and MENA-focused publications, five weekly industry verticals, and a weekend lifestyle edition designed to make our readers feel just a bit smarter.

We have tons more in the pipeline — come help us build new publications. We offer the chance to work in a fast-paced newsroom on a broad range of topics and in a variety of formats. Our goal is simple: To create value for our growing community of >250k daily readers by telling stories that matter.

NEVER WORKED IN A NEWSROOM BEFORE? We have the Enterprise Business Writing Development Program. Whether you are a recent graduate, an industry vet, or looking to switch careers, the Enterprise Business Writing Development Program will give you the tools you need to tell the most important stories to our audience of C-suite officials, government ministers, diplomats, financiers, investors and entrepreneurs.

Not an internship program — a career: The three-month program will see full-time, paid participants take part in workshops and lectures from veteran business journalists on subject matter knowledge, while also working on constructing and filing Enterprise stories that will run on any of our publications. Those who have successfully completed the program, will then be given long-term job offers.

Apply directly to jobs@enterprisemea.com and mention “writing development program” in your subject line.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The Levitate Conference and Exhibition kicked off yesterday at the St. Regis Hotel in Amman, Jordan and is concluding today. The event will bring together industry players to discuss drone applications, data and AI, security and legislation, and R&D in the drone industry. It will also discuss its relevance and use across the region in logistics, transportation, construction, refining, and other industries.

The fourth round of negotiations between the GCC and the UK for a trade agreement is kicking off today in London and will run till 28 July. The meetings will take place over two sessions of remote and in-person meetings, where the terms of the agreement will be discussed.

MARK 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.

Day one is our Banking Forum, where we’ll dive deep into topics of interest to commercial and investment bankers, from an outlook on the 12 months to come in M&A, IPO, and debt capital markets to the national, regional, and global trends that are (re)shaping our industry.

Day two is all about Fintech and Non-Banking Financial Services. We’ll take a deep dive into everything from the magic of client acquisition to the prospects of consolidation and the coming of challenger banks.

** NEW: MORE NETWORKING TIME- Our agenda includes expanded networking time, including an expanded coffee break and a post-event networking room for you to interact with your peers and speak one-on-one with the team at Enterprise.

TAP OR CLICK HERE if you want to express interest in attending. We’ll be sending out the first batch of invitations just after the 30 June holiday.

Do you want to become a commercial partner? Ping a note to Moustafa Taalab, our head of commercial, or fill out this form and we’ll be in touch.

STAY TUNED for more detail about our agenda in the weeks to come.

MISSED THE ENTERPRISE EXPORTS AND FDI FORUM? Tune in to the Enterprise Podcast to hear what went down: 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 last 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- From deciding the target markets, to focusing on quality, marketing in new markets, and restructuring a business around exports, our panelists discuss and provide key insights on what businesses need to focus on when building an exports and FDI strategy. We were joined on that panel by Hossam Sallab, CEO and vice-chairman of Sallab Group and Royal Ceramica, Mark Wyllie, CEO of Beyti Egypt, and Kareem Abou Ghaly, the chairman and CEO of Pasta Regina.

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