Israel’s Leumi, UAE’s DP World partner on regional trade

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel’s Bank Leumi and Dubai’s DP World said on Monday they had agreed to partner in boosting trade between Israel and the rest of the Middle East.

This includes possible financing for the development of Israel’s port sector, Leumi, one of Israel’s largest lenders, said in a statement.

The memorandum of understanding includes simplifying working capital requirements to improve the flow of cargo and digital solutions to remove inefficiencies in the supply chain, DP World said in a separate statement.

Dubai state-owned DP World, a global port operator, announced last week that it was partnering with an Israeli group to bid for one of Israel’s two main ports.

This follows an historic agreement last month between Israel and the United Arab Emirates to normalise ties.

(Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; editing by Steven Scheer and Jason Neely)