Good morning, everyone. The end-of-year news slowdown is finally upon us, with very little happening in the logistics sector worth noting, save for a couple of interesting news coming out of the UAE and KSA.

Things have finally calmed down on the Red Sea front, with virtually no updates since we last wrote to you. Among the only chatter we picked up was from the Israeli press, which claims that a proposed UAE-Israel land corridor could be extended to Egypt. The land corridor, for the delivery of cargo, would connect Israel to the UAE to Israel via Saudi Arabia and Jordan, reports Print, citing undisclosed Israeli officials. So far, only Israeli media outlets have reported on the story. Jordan denied reports of plans to operate the land bridge earlier this month, Petra reported.

ICYMI:Earlier this month, Israeli media outlets suggested that UAE-based logistics companies FZCO and DP World could ink an agreement with Israeli logistics firm Trucknet to connect ports in the two countries, as well as KSA and Jordan, via a land bridge.

SPEAKING OF JORDAN + EGYPT-Operations along the Arab trade line connecting Jordan and Egypt are set to kick off this week, general manager of Arab Bridge Maritime Adnan Al Abadla told Almamlaka. The route is poised to present an alternative to shipment via the Red Sea following the decision by global carriers to pause transits in the light of security threats, and is expected to garner interest from GCC states, especially given that shipments from Jordan receive a 20% reduction on tariffs at Egyptian ports, Al Abadla said. The route will see cargoes shipped from the Jordanian port of Aqaba to Egypt’s Nuweiba port, before being loaded onto trucks bound for Egypt’s ports on the Mediterranean coast.

REMEMBER- Egypt, Jordan, and Iraq inked a cooperation protocol earlier this year for a transit trade scheme dubbed the Arab Trade Line to facilitate transit trade from Jordan, Iraq, and GCC countries via Egypt. The route relies on ferries operated by Arab Bridge Maritime, a joint venture between the governments of Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan.

THE BIG STORY TODAY- The only stories worth noting are a SAR 100 mn overhaul of the cargo terminal at King Fahd International Airport, and Agility subsidiary GCS getting the contract for operations and maintenance at Kuwait’s Shuaiba port.

HAPPENING TOMORROW-

Tajikistan will host the two-day Iran-Tajikistan Joint Economic Committee in Dushanbe starting tomorrow, Tasnim reports. The meeting will allow the two countries to explore ways to boost annual trade to USD 500 mn, up from the USD 300 mn expected by the end of the current Iranian calendar year which concludes at the end of March 2024, Mehr reports.

WATCH THIS SPACE-The UAE wants to streamline digital licensing for marine vessels: The Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority inked an MoU with the Dubai Maritime Authority of Dubai Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation to amend the regulatory framework for maritime business operations in a bid to streamlining licensing procedures, WAM reports. The MoU aims to accelerate the process of handing out wireless device authorization for recreational marine vessels over 10.6 meters in length and other commercial marine vessels operating within the UAE.

DATA POINTS-

#1-Egypt’s East and West Port Said and Al Arish ports handled 348.3k TEUs in November, Al Masry Al Youm reported. The ports received a combined 254 vessels, representing 4.5 mn tons of realized capacity. East Port Said handled the lion’s share of the cargoes, processing 320k TEUs in November, the report said.

#2-Bahrain’s trade deficit widened in November: Bahrain’s trade deficit widened by 281% y-o-y to BHD 82 mn in November, according to data from the Information and Government Authority. The country’s national exports fell 15% y-o-y to BHD 299 mn during the month, compared to BHD 350 mn a year prior. Imports, on the other hand, grew by 3% y-o-y, reaching BHD 454, with China, followed by the United States and Australia, standing as its top importers. Re-exports increased 15% y-o-y during the period to BHD 74 mn.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The UAE will host The Dubai International Pharma and Technologies Conference and Exhibition from Tuesday, 9 January through to Thursday, 11 January in Dubai.The event will bring together the entire pharma value chain, from suppliers, manufacturers, distributors to pharmacists.

The UAE will host Transport Middle East from Tuesday, 23 January through to Thursday, 25 January in Abu Dhabi. The event will see more than 30 speakers come together to tackle the current challenges in global transportation and logistics.

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