Good morning, friends. We have a brisk issue for you this morning, with some big updates on the global front.

THE BIG LOGISTICS STORY- Iran is inaugurating its Pataveh-Dehdasht Road, linking the country’s southwestern region to its central areas. Also from Iran: MPs approved a bill to set up a trade ministry, separate from its current industry, mining and trade Ministry.

THE BIG LOGISTICS STORY ABROAD- Russia backs out of Black Sea grain pact: Russia suspended the Black Sea export grain pact until its own demands to facilitate wheat and fertilizer exports under the pact is met, Russian News Agency TASS reported yesterday. “As soon as the Russian part of the [pact] is fulfilled, the Russian side will immediately return to the implementation of this [agreement],” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said. Russia’s exports have been stalled as a result of western sanctions.

BACKGROUND- Russia has beenthreatening to withdraw from the agreement, which was brokered last year by the UN and Ukraine, that allowed Ukraine to safely export grain shipments through the Black Sea to avert a global food crisis. The agreement had been extended several times and was due to expire yesterday, unless the two sides agreed on a renewal.

The story is getting ink from Reuters, the Financial Times, CNBC, and others.

HAPPENING TODAY-

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan kicked off the first leg of his Gulf tour with a visit to Saudi Arabia yesterday, the Saudi Gazette reports.Erdogan was set to meet King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed Bin Salman, though there have yet to be any statements from the visit.

Erdogan will head to Qatar today and the UAE tomorrow, as he looks to drum up investments and strengthen bilateral relations to boost Turkey’s economy, according to the Gazette. The Turkish head of state is set to meet Qatar Emir Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani today and UAE President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed in Abu Dhabi tomorrow. Erdogan’s visit is expected to see him sign agreements in several fields, including logistics, infrastructure and e-commerce, the Gazette reports.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is also in the Gulf this week, kicking off his tour with Saudi Arabia on Sunday and the UAE yesterday. Kishida visited the UAE yesterday, and will be heading to Qatar as part of his three-day visit. The trip is intended to help Japan develop its ties with Gulf Cooperation Council countries and build cooperation in various fields, particularly energy. It is also the first by a Japanese leader since the late Shinzo Abe visited in 2020.

The two countries also signed 26 cooperation agreements on clean energy and rare earth minerals, according to state-run TV channel El Ekhbariya (watch, runtime: 00:53).

ALSOFROM THE VISIT-Japan and the GCC agreed to resume trade agreement negotiations yesterday, in a bid to strengthen their economic relations. GCC Secretary-General Jassem Mohamed Albudaiwi and Kishida agreed to “liberalize trade” between the two sides in a “mutually beneficial manner” through the agreement, according to a joint statement (pdf). The next round of negotiations will take place in 2024.

Tehran warns the US to cease “provocative, non-constructive, and destabilizing actions,” state-owned Mehr news agency quotes Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson as saying, adding that Iran has the right to show a reaction to ensure maritime and aviation security in the region. This follows claims that the US was deploying F-16 fighter jets to bases in the region.

WATCH THIS SPACE-Oman’s Transport, Communications, and Information Technology Ministry is launching tenders for two road dualization projects, according to Muscat Daily. The first tender is for a 27 km Raysut-Al Mughsayl dualization project in Dhofar, and entails improving infrastructure by developing a dual carriageway that will connect it to the November 18 Ring Road, via a double lane which will expand the road by 5 km, according to the outlet. The second tender involves completion of the road from the LNG roundabout to Bilad Sur Roundabout in Sur by completing 3 km of roadworks on both sides.

DATA POINT- The UAE’s AD Ports Group has recorded a 17% decline in greenhouse gas emissions’ intensity per TEU handled during 2022, according to the company’s sustainability report (pdf). The company also recorded a 13% decrease in fuel consumption intensity per TEU, and an 18% decline in electricity consumption intensity for container terminals, the report said. They also recycled 57% of their solid waste, according to the report.

DATA POINT #2-Qatar posted a QAR 18.2 bn trade surplus for May, falling 46.8% y-o-y and 17.2% m-o-m, according to preliminary figures released by Qatar’s Planning and Statistics Agency (PSA). Total exports for May stood at QAR 27.8 bn, dipping 35.3% when compared to the same period last year and 9.4% when compared to April. Meanwhile, imports for May stood at QAR 9.6 bn, up 9.5% y-o-y and 10.4% m-o-m. Declining exports were mostly attributable to lower sales of hydrocarbons, according to PSA’s statement.

MARKET WATCH-Ocean freight rates for 2Q 2023 hit multi-year lows despite a relatively strong start to the quarter, amid low demand and a capacity glut, Hellenic Shipping News reports. Breakbulk spot rates fell by 3-5% during the quarter, according to Toepfer’s Multipurpose Index (TMI) and the Drewry Multipurpose Time Charter Index. Meanwhile, shortsea rates dropped by 4-6% on a quarterly basis, and container rates hit levels last seen in 2019 and 2020. The Freightos Global Index also fell to its lowest in 44 months by the end of June, while the Drewry's World Container Index hit a 38-month low. Charter rates for May also tumbled by 27%, and all trade lanes experienced a decline.

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.

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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 fourth round of negotiations between the GCC and the UK for a trade agreement kicked off yesterday in London and will run till 28 July. The meetings will take place over two sessions of remote and in-person meetings.

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.