Good morning, ladies and gents. Apologies for the late arrival this morning, it’s a busy start to the week in the regional logistics industry as Egypt wrapped its Egypt-EU Investment summit yesterday. We also have M&A, investment, and project updates from around the region to delve into.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- UAE-India to initiate digital platform development for logistics corridor: Development has begun on a digital platform to streamline information exchange for vessel, voyage and cargo-related procedures between the UAE and India, in preparation to break ground on the first leg of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, the Times of India reported. The digital platform is scheduled to launch within the first 100 days of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third term, which began in June.

ICYMI- Indian press reported last week that officials have kicked off work on the corridor, with efforts underway to streamline procedures across the Indian ports of Mundra, Kandla and Nhava Sheva as well as the UAE ports of Jebel Ali and Fujairah.

IN OTHER UAE NEWS- The UAE is expected to ramp up logistics and maritime trade activities in the Horn of Africa, Zawya reports, citing Sub-Saharan Africa Country Risk Analyst at BMI Sayen Gohil. This comes as part of the country’s plan to diversify its economy away from oil. The Horn is in a strategic location for Gulf markets as it is situated across from Yemen in the closest part of Africa to the Middle East. Expansion of logistics in that region “will have an impact on intra-MENA relations for years to come,” Gohil said, adding that recent Houthi attacks in the Red Sea have proven the Horn’s importance as a maritime route.

There’s a lot to gain: The UAE has invested the largest amount of funds into Africa compared to other GCC countries, which at USD 60 bn, is twice the amount invested by KSA, according to a BMI webinar on the UAE’s strategic economic expansion into Africa. The country is also the fourth largest investor in the continent globally after the EU, China, and the US, Zawya writes.

#2- Emirates airlines is postponing the deployment of new Airbus A350 planes by almost two months due to delivery delays, an airline representative told The National on Saturday. The deliveries of 65 aircraft were set to start in August and continue over the next 3.5 years. The delay in delivery has caused the airline to shuffle flight schedules while it aims to minimize the impact of delays, the news outlet reports. The new aircraft will serve Edinburgh starting early November, followed by Bahrain and Kuwait later that month.

Background: Airbus said last week that it expects to deliver 770 commercial aircraft in 2024, down from a previous forecast of 800 deliveries. Ongoing delivery delays have been spurred by persistent supply disruptions for engines and cabin equipment, Reuters reported last week, citing insider sources.

Not the first letdown for Emirates: The airline’s president said last month that Emirates’ is “extremely exasperated” with delivery delays from Boeing.

#3- Morocco’s Dakhla Port — set to kick off operations in 2030 — will aim to serve as a gateway to the Atlantic for African Sahel countries, AnadoluNews Agency reported last week, citing comments made by Morocco’s Regional Investment Center director Mounir Hawari. The port has 800k hectares of land allocated to sustainable energy projects with the aim of capitalizing on exports to Europe, Al Arabiya reports. France has expressed interest in funding a 3 GW power cable linking the Moroccan city of Casablanca to the town of Dakhla while French independent power producer HDF Energy has partnered with Moroccan investment holding company Falcon Capital Dakhla to establish a green hydrogen production facility in Dakhla.

Background: Officials from Morocco, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali and Niger met to discuss Morocco’s Atlantic Ocean Access initiative for countries in the Sahel region at a Ministerial Coordination meeting in Marrakech in December.

MARKET WATCH-

#1- Oil prices rose in early morning trading on the back of summer fuel demand and Opec+ cuts in 3Q, Reuters reports. Brent crude futures climbed to USD 85.33 a barrel while US West Texas Intermediate futures recorded USD 81.89 by GMT 04.39. Both contracts have increased in value by around 6% last month, with Brent recording prices USD 85 a barrel in the past two weeks.

#2- Baltic index sees monthly gain boosted by capesize demand: The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk sea freight index — which tracks rates for the capesize, panamax, and supramax vessel segments — was up 0.9% to 2,050 points on the back of high capesize vessel rates, Reuters reports. Capesize rose 2.1% to 3,443 points, while the panamax index dipped 0.3% to 1,667 points. The smaller supramax segment fell 14 points to 1, 385.

DATA POINT-

KSA has expanded its total logistics space in industrial cities to over 4.8 mn sqm, SPA reports, citing the Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones (MODON). MODON aims to offer a comprehensive range of logistics products in the Kingdom amid rising demand for logistics service spaces, according to a statement. Saudi Arabia announced last August that it plans to develop 59 logistics centers covering 100 mn sqm in the country.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Turkey will host the ACI Europe Annual Congress on Tuesday, 2 July to Thursday, 4 July in Istanbul. The event will bring together 500 C-level airport executives, as well representatives from businesses engaged with airports, airlines, aircraft manufacturers, and other stakeholders. The event will highlight discussions on the current state of the airport industry, geopolitics, the Turkish market, resilience, sustainability, and the diversification of revenues.

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