According to Dan Brutto, president of UPS International, this emerging area covers trade to and from 21 countries: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, the UAE and Yemen.
UPS will have a majority stake in the new joint venture, which will acquire the small package operations of its existing service agent in Turkey - Unsped Paket Servisi San ve Ticaret.
Leadership of the new venture will come from Unsped CEO Haluk Undeger, who will also own a minority share in the JV.
Closing is expected to occur within thirty days, subject to the satisfaction of customary conditions.
Specific terms of the deal were not disclosed.
This joint venture follows the announcement earlier this year of expanded UPS domestic express small package pickup and delivery services offered in Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and UAE with a single technology platform. Shipping processes and information visibility for all domestic and international package delivery services in these countries has been streamlined.
UPS first entered the Middle East in 1987 when it established import operations in Bahrain. The company expanded to offer a comprehensive service portfolio combining local expertise through service contractors and joint ventures within countries, initiating service in Turkey through Unsped in 1988.
