Good morning, friends, and welcome back. We have a packed issue for you this morning, as we return from a long weekend that saw plenty of updates on the diplo and freezones fronts in the region.

THE BIG LOGISTICS STORIES- Iraq and Iran are planning to establish a joint freezone on their shared border by March 2024. Meanwhile, AD Ports Group has partnered up with Emirati and Japanese firms to establish a green iron supply chain hub in its Kezad Musaffah freezone.

THE BIG LOGISTICS STORY ABROAD- The aftermath of Russia’s exit from the Black Sea grain pact has dominated headlines: Ships picking up grain cargoes for the Black Sea grain pact fell 35% last week, compared to the week before, following Russia’s exit from the UN-brokered agreement, Reuters reports, citing data from Shipfix. Ukraine’s ports were subject to consistent attacks from Russia over the past week, which it said came in retaliation following Ukraine’s attack on the Crimea bridge. Russia also said it will now deem all ships heading to Ukraine as targets potentially carrying arms, Reuters added. Adding salt to the wound, ins. firms have suspended cover for shipments from Ukraine following Russia’s exit, ins. industry sources told Reuters.

But there’s still hope for the restoration of the pact: Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said the onus was on the United Nations to comply with Russia’s demands over the next three months, which is the duration of Russia’s notice period for its exit from the pact, Reuters reported. Russia’s main demand and the reason for pulling out of the pact is concerns that promises to facilitate its own shipments of food and fertilizers had not been kept under the pact, the newswire added. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also said his planned talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin could lead to restoration of the initiative, while calling on Western countries to take Russia’s demands into consideration, Reuters reported, without clarifying when the talks will take place.

HAPPENING TODAY-

Iran’s proposal to host a shipping event in Tehran in conjunction with the UN International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) annual maritime day in October has been rejected, following a US-led proposal to rescind their bid, Reuters cites an agency spokesperson as saying. The IMO’s executive council had accepted Iran’s bid to host the shipping event back in 2015, but the US put forward a proposal to rescind the decision, according to the outlet.

The rationale: The majority of the IMO’s 40 council members voted in favor of rescinding the offer, citing Iran’s actions towards vessels in recent years, which they say includes attacks, harassment, and detention and seizures, according to Reuters. Iran recently attempted to seize two commercial oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman, which was met with US Navy intervention.

WATCH THIS SPACE #1- The UAE could develop another terminal at Karachi port: Pakistan has put together a committee tasked with negotiating a draft framework G2G agreement with the UAE to develop a bulk and general cargo terminal at Karachi Port’s East Wharf, according to a Finance Ministry statement.

Background: AD Ports Group was granted last montha 50-year concession to “manage, operate, and develop” Karachi Gateway Terminal Limited (KGTL) at Karachi Port’s East Wharf. AD Ports Group has been on an expansion spree, recently signing other agreements to operate ports in the Congo and Egypt.

WATCH THIS SPACE #2- Iraq to provide Lebanon with fuel to power its electric stations: Iraq has inked an MoU with Lebanon to supply the country with fuel and crude oil to support its electricity sector, state-owned Iraq News Agency (INA) said. The agreement is renewable for another year with an option to up quantities involved, Iraq’s Oil Minister Hayan Abdul Ghani said in statements cited by INA. Technical committees from both countries will work to develop mechanisms to implement the agreement, including details involving the logistical obligations of each side, prior to ratification by the countries’ governments, Abdul Ghani said.

DATA POINT- Iraq’s state owned General Company for Ports of Iraq raked in next to IQD 500 bn of revenues in 1H 2023, surpassing proceeds from the same period last year, according to a statement. The country has been working on improving port infrastructure, fleets, and the development of local skills, the statement added.

MARKET WATCH-The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index recorded a 10% weekly drop last week, due to reduced demand for larger shipping vessels, Reutersreports. The capesize index gained 1.5% on Friday, but still fell nearly 13% for the week. The Panamax index fell 2.2% on Friday, its sixth consecutive drop, registering a weekly decrease of 15.6%.

The Drewry World Container Index (WCI) inched up 3.3% this week, reaching USD 1,536.86 per 40-foot container, according to Drewry. The index was still down 77.5% y-o-y and 85% below its peak in September 2021. The WCI is now 43% lower than the ten-year average, reflecting a return to more normal prices, but is still 8% higher than pre-pandemic rates in 2019.

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IN THIS WEEK’S EPISODE- We ask some of the biggest multinationals and suppliers operating here — namely, in logistics, e-commerce, and FMCG — what it is they’re looking for in a local partner, product or service and what are some of the pain points they’ve had to deal with. We were joined on that panel by Khaled Morsy, CEO of DB Schenker Egypt, Omar Elsahy, General Manager at Amazon Egypt, Tarek Kamel, Chairman and CEO of Nestlé Egypt and Sudan.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The UAE’s Finance Ministry is holding a digital public consultation on its website that began last Wednesday and runs until 2 August,as part of the UAE’s corporate tax freezone regulations,Emirati news agency WAM reports.The consultation aims to gather feedback from freezone-based companies, WAM added.

Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Salem Al Sabah will visit Iraq by the end of the month,state-owned Iraqi News Agency reports, citing statements from the Kuwaiti ambassador to Iraq, Tariq Al Faraj. Al Faraj met with Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid yesterday to discuss ways to enhance bilateral cooperation and resolve outstanding issues.

The Second Summit Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum will take place in Saint Petersburg, Russia on Thursday 27 and Friday 28 July. The event will build on discussions in the last iteration of the summit, which took place in Sochi in 2019. It will also look to develop ties between Russia and partner countries in Africa, as well as African organizations such as the African Union.

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