Skip to content
The corridor route: containerised cargo travels by sea from Alexandria and Port Said to Thessaloniki, then by scheduled rail along Pan-European Corridor X to Sofia and on to Niš, and by road into Serbia, the Western Balkans and nearby EU markets.

An international and regional trade initiative

A single, accountable corridor for Arab–EU trade

An integrated logistics, trading, institutional and digital-marketing platform linking Arab markets with the Balkans and the European Union — via Thessaloniki, Sofia and Niš.

Explore the corridorCairo 2026 — Launching Event

Developed by BDS Holding BV, The Netherlands · Endorsed by the Union of Arab Chambers and the League of Arab States

3corridor hubs — Thessaloniki · Sofia · Niš
>90%of tariff lines becoming duty-free under the Egypt–Serbia FTA
500MEuropean consumers within reach
1.3BNpeople in the African free-trade area, via Egypt

Trade between the Arab world and the EU is growing. The plumbing has not kept up.

Fragmented logistics, tariff complexity and thin institutional support make Arab–EU trade slower, dearer and harder to finance than it should be. Goods change hands between operators who answer to no one for the journey as a whole, and the paperwork that governs them is written in four regimes at once.

The Arab–Balkans Corridor replaces that with one predictable, scalable system. It combines logistics, trading, corridor intelligence, institutional representation and AI-enabled digital marketing into a single coordinated operation — for exporters, importers and public institutions on both sides.

Why the corridor works now

Ships at the northern entrance of the Suez Canal at Port Said, Egypt.

Port Said — where the corridor picks up cargo for the sea leg.

Vyacheslav Argenberg · CC BY 4.0

  1. Sea leg

    Alexandria and Port Said to the Port of Thessaloniki — the corridor's maritime gateway and first warehouse, with free-zone and AEO status.

  2. Rail corridor

    Scheduled block trains along Pan-European Corridor X: Thessaloniki to Sofia to Niš.

  3. Road and distribution

    Consolidation, value-add and last-mile into Serbia, the Western Balkans and nearby EU markets.

See the full route

Gantry cranes working a container ship at a Mediterranean terminal, with stacked containers on deck.

Containers worked at a Mediterranean terminal.

foxypar4 · CC BY 2.0

  • Gateway & first warehouse

    Thessaloniki, Greece

    The corridor's operational launch point. Container terminals with free-zone and AEO status.

    Thessaloniki, Greece

  • Dry port & EU rail hub

    Sofia, Bulgaria

    The inland rail hub on Corridor X, with EU-compliant logistics for onward distribution.

    Sofia, Bulgaria

  • FTA node

    Niš, Serbia

    Consolidation and distribution for FTA-qualified trade with Egypt and the Arab world.

    Niš, Serbia

  • Origin

    Alexandria / Port Said

    Sourcing, quality control, consolidation and export coordination in Egypt.

    Alexandria / Port Said

  • Business Center & management hub

    Amsterdam

    The institutional platform, corporate lead and Western-Europe commercial base.

    Amsterdam

It is what turns a route into an institution.

Beyond logistics, ABC gives the Arab world a permanent, EU-based institutional home in Amsterdam — where chambers, promotion agencies and trade bodies gain a trusted platform inside the European market.

Dedicated offices and a permanent EU address. Showrooms and product displays. Meeting facilities, B2B matchmaking and buyer missions. And a base for the Strategic Studies and Analysis Unit.

The Havengebouw harbour building on the IJ waterfront in Amsterdam, with vessels moored along the quay.

Amsterdam — the corridor’s institutional platform and management hub.

Anna Maria Giannattasio · CC BY-SA 4.0

Anchored by the League of Arab States and the Union of Arab Chambers.

The Amsterdam Business Center

Cairo · 2026 — dates to be announced

Cairo Launching Event

We bring you to Cairo. You meet buyers, partners and investors from Egypt and other Arab countries. Every meeting is booked in advance and matched to what you ask for. Nothing is left to chance. And the corridor runs the logistics behind whatever you agree.

The Cairo skyline along the Nile.

Cairo — where the corridor’s launching event convenes.

Vyacheslav Argenberg · CC BY 4.0

  • Counterparts screened in advance for genuine interest and authority to decide
  • Meetings of 25 minutes, booked before you travel
  • A written outcome record for every meeting, with follow-up at 30, 60 and 90 days
Register your interestPartner with the event

Initiators and institutional coalition

  • BDS Holding BV
  • Union of Arab Chambers
  • League of Arab States

Delivery and operating partners

  • ORIUM
  • Trade Link
  • Port of Thessaloniki (ThPA S.A.)

Structure and governance

Build with the corridor

Let's move your trade across the Arab–Balkans Corridor.

Whether you are an exporter, an importer, a chamber or an investor — talk to us about corridor logistics, trading, representation, intelligence and market entry.

Get in touch