Delta Air Lines plans to launch nonstop flights between Atlanta and Kuwait starting Nov. 7, boosting its presence in the Middle East and Africa to about a dozen destinations, the company said Monday.

The service, to Kuwait City, will be four days a week.

The Atlanta-based carrier also said it will switch in October to daily service from Atlanta to Dubai, from six flights a week.

Delta began service to Dubai, a major financial center in the United Arab Emirates, in 2007 as part of a wholesale expansion of its overseas network begun before the company filed for bankruptcy.

Delta has continued that strategy since it emerged from Chapter 11 last year and recently announced plans to merge with Northwest Airlines to capitalize on that carrier's large presence in Asia.

Delta said the addition of Kuwait, a major oil producer that is one of the world's richest countries, continues its focus on fast-growing overseas markets.

"Traffic between the United States and the Middle East is one of the fastest-growing regions in aviation," Glen Hauenstein, Delta's executive vice president in charge of the carrier's network strategy, said in a news release.

In the Middle East and Africa, Delta added flights in recent years from Atlanta to Tel Aviv, Israel; Johannesburg, South Africa; Dakar, Senegal; and Lagos, Nigeria, another major oil-producing area.

From New York, Delta added flights in recent years to destinations such as Tel Aviv and Accra, Ghana. The airline is adding service from New York to Cairo, Egypt, and Amman, Jordan, next month.