NEWS REVIEW: Maritime sector in 2026
Y: A review of the performance of container terminals
Ship2Shore’s analysis records strong performances at MCT Gioia Tauro (+14%), Vado Gateway (+86%), TDT Livorno (+18%), SCT Salerno (+16%), PSA Vecon Venice (+19%), TCR Ravenna (+13%), TFG Naples (+36%), MITO (+24%), Terminal Bettolo (+65%) and HHLA PLT Trieste (+143%), while volumes declined at TMT Trieste (–28%) and TSG Genoa (–37%)
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orld survey: Trade leaders upbeat on 2026 despite barriers
The global trade outlook looks fragile Business confidence does not That’s the core finding of DP World’s Annual Outlook Report 2026, showing 94% of respondents expect 2026 trade growth to match or exceed the pace of 2025, despite rising frictions and volatility.
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Underwater maritime world: a sea of opportunities below the water surface
After the commission of Italian Navy’s U212 NFS submarine in Jun 2024, Fincantieri, now the world’s fourth largest shipbuilding company, looks to the strategic opportunities of the maritime underwater sector
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Arctic freeze: interview with Amb. Francesco Maria Talò
Trump's claims on Greenland opened up a new tension front in US-EU relations Between national security, strategic resources, Arctic shipping routes, and commercial pressures,, the Arctic is becoming the new battleground between Western allies and global powers.
Watch the interview (IT)
NEWS REVIEW: EU and Indo-Pacific
-India Free Trade Agreement: why Italy should care
EU-India FTA emerges as a strategic lever for Italy in a context of growing transatlantic tensions, offering a for SMEs, agrifood, and wine to access new markets and secure early positioning in an increasingly fragmented world.
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a–EU relations at a strategic turning point
India and the EU are accelerating their strategic partnership amid global uncertainty, aiming to conclude and possibly sign a long-pending FTA Deepening political, economic, and technological ties reflect a pragmatic convergence of interests and a shared commitment to a rules-based, multipolar order.
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IMEC: does the “Cotton Road” have real logistic potential?
Could the Cotton Road have real logistic value for economic operators, or should it be considered a political vision designed to separate India's destiny from that of China's Belt and Road Initiative and pacify the Middle East in line with the Abraham Accords?
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Is the Yemeni government getting ready to attack the Houthis?
Houthis weigh risks as Saudi-backed campaign to unite forces could challenge their decade-long hold on northwest Yemen The government, led by President Rashad al-Alimi, has announced the formation of a Supreme Military Committee (SMC) that will integrate all the disparate anti-Houthi forces into the Yemeni military.
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FOCUS: Italy’s bilateral strategy
and Qatar anchor major port expansion in Libya’s ata
Italy is strengthening its strategic and economic role in Libya by backing a major port expansion in Misrata with Qatar and MSC, positioning the hub as a key Euro-African connector. Rome is betting on Libya’s infrastructure, trade, and energy cooperation to advance its broader Mediterranean and Africa strategy
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Italy–UAE defence deal: why Rome’s cabinet vote matters beyond the bilateral
Italy’s cabinet has approved ratifying a defence cooperation agreement with the UAE, signalling a strategic bet on Abu Dhabi as a key Indo-Mediterranean partner. The move links security, technology and connectivity, with implications that go well beyond the bilateral relationship
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rmany double down on industry, security and hains
Italy and Germany are reinforcing their strategic economic partnership through a high-level business forum in Rome, focusing on industry, infrastructure and defense With bilateral trade at record levels, this reflects both economic interdependence and a growing political alignment between Rome and Berlin amid shifting European dynamics.
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As Europe’s traditional Franco-German engine splutters, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is increasingly looking to team up with hard-right Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni as his co-pilot in steering the EU The two are both right-wing Atlanticists who want to cool tensions with U.S. President Donald Trump. And they both have their frustrations with French President Emmanuel Macron.
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The EU’s new power couple: Merz and Meloni
ANALYSIS: Why Italy should connect IMEC, 3SI’s, and CEI
by Emanuele Rossi
PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE RESOLUTION:
On January 20, the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Deputies approved Resolution 7-00346, promoted by MP Paolo Formentini (League), committing the government to assess Italy’s accession to the Three Seas format and to develop operational synergies between the three frameworks: IMEC’s East–West axis (India–Middle East–Europe) 3SI’s North–South spine (Baltic–Adriatic–Black Sea) Central European Initiative (CEI)
The move reinforces Rome’s ambition to position Trieste as a core logistical hub connecting Europe, the Mediterranean and the Indo-Pacific, while also pointing to a broader connectivity strategy involving the Central European Initiative (CEI).
“We are committing the government to assess Italy’s accession to this initiative urgently and, consequently, to link it with IMEC and the Central European Initiative Italy thus becomes an even stronger geographic hinge between East–West and North–South, enhancing the port of Trieste as a key hub and strengthening its global competitiveness This moves clearly in the direction of Italy’s national interest.”
Paolo
Formentini, vice-chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee
FOCUS: Trieste news
–U.S. maritime ties get a boost as Trieste rejoins MSC’s gon service
Trieste’s return to MSC’s Dragon service restores a direct maritime link between Asia, the Mediterranean and the U.S. East Coast, strengthening Italy–U.S. economic connectivity. At a time of transatlantic political uncertainty, logistics and port infrastructure are emerging as stabilising pillars of the bilateral relationship
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N Alliance confirms Trieste for 2026
At the Convention between Carriers and Ports for OCEAN Alliance, the CMA CGM Group, COSCO Shipping, Evergreen, and OOCL launched OCEAN Alliance "DAY 10 Product". Operating on 41 services, OCEAN Alliance, currently the largest operational alliance in the shipping industry confirms calls at the Adriatic ports of Trieste, Koper (Slovenia) and Rijeka (Croatia).
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Innoway Trieste and Italy’s Ministry for Infrastructures and Transport on the future of Bagnoli della Rosandra
The joint venture between MSC and Innofreight presented the main results and next steps of the industrial project to revitalise the Bagnoli della Rosandra hub to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport (MIT) Innoway confirmed a total of €100 million investments and expects to exceed 600 wagon units delivered in 2026.
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Trieste Port focuses on IMEC and infrastructure development
Port governance reforms, the future of the international free port, and the role of global logistics corridors were the focus of the debate organised by the Democratic Party, during the conference ‘Port of Trieste: local and global horizons’ The discussion included reference to possible new markets, including Mercosur, and the need for adequate infrastructure.
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ANALYSIS: Trieste as Belgrade’s Gateway to Europe’s New Corridors
by PUPIN Initiative
STRATEGIC CONTEXT:
Trieste is re-emerging as one of Europe’s most strategically valuable ports, positioned at the head of the Adriatic as a gateway between Central and Eastern Europe and global trade routes.
For Serbia, landlocked, export-oriented, and navigating both EU integration and diversified international partnerships, Trieste represents a modern access point and a corridor into emerging geopolitical and economic networks.
Trieste’s 21st-Century Value
potential European terminal for the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC)
natural endpoint - exceptionally connected to Central and Eastern Europe through direct rail and road linkages
strongest existing infrastructure footprint into the European hinterland compared to alternative candidates such as Greek ports or Marseille
Why Trieste Matters for Serbia: Four Core Interests
Trieste Summit invites UND to join Advisory Board
Trieste Summit invites Uluslararasi Nakliyeciler Dernegi (UND) to join the Association’s Advisory Board, recognizing Türkiye's strategic role in Indo-Mediterranean trade flows and Trieste's leadership as the natural bridge between the Indo-Mediterranean and Central Europe
The invitation presented in Istanbul by the Association emphasized how Türkiye's geoeconomic positioning and Trieste Ro.Ro. system operational for over thirty years and currently handling approximately 350,000 vehicles annually constitute the architecture of genuine corridor redundancy serving IndoMediterranean flows to Central European markets, as it effectively reduces dependence on chokepoints such as Bab-el-Mandeb. Within this framework, Trieste emerges as the privileged gateway for both terrestrial and maritime corridors traversing Türkiye, thanks to its treaty-protected free-port status and ongoing major infrastructure investments
The meeting reinforced the conviction that closer collaboration between Türkiye's businesses and Trieste Summit already evidenced by Kadir Çirkin's participation in the first Indo-Mediterranean Business Forum and Turgut Erkeskin's status as member of the Advisory Board— can simultaneously strengthen Türkiye's role in Indo-Mediterranean trade and Trieste's position as the gateway of the relevant trade flows to Central Europe.
IFROM LEFT TO RIGHT: Alberto Pasino (Trieste Summit - Director), Serafettin Aras (UND - President), Turgut Erkeskin (Trieste Summit - Advisory Board), Kadir Çirkin (UND - Vice President)
INDIA ENERGY WEEK 2026
JANUARY
27-30
MARCH
MARCH
MARCH
MAY
OCTOBER
Collaboration, Resilience, Transition and Addition
ONGCAT, GOA (India)
EUROPEAN OCEAN DAYS 2026
BRUSSELS (Belgium) 2-6
Blue economy and sustainable development
5-7
RAISINA DIALOGUE 2026
Saṃskāra: assertion - accommodation - advancement
NEW DELHI (India)
DEVELOPING AN INDO-MEDITTERANEAN PERSPECTIVE: IMPLEMENTATION OF THE IMEC NETWORK
TRIESTE (Italy) 17
21-22
EUROPEAN MARITIME DAY 2026
Blue economy and maritime economy
LIMASSOL (Cyprus)
FIATA CENTENNIAL CONGRESS Empowering Global Logistics
MILAN (Italy) 6-9
