May 2011

Political Issues

Egypt

1. India extends support to Egypt in power transition

Cairo, Friday, 1 April 2011

In the first ministerial-level contact between India and Egypt since the January 25 events, India’s Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahamed has conveyed his country’s continued support to Egypt and its people during the historic power transition process here.

Source: Business Line, Chennai

2. Egypt envoy seeks CEC help in conducting polls

New Delhi, Tuesday, 5 April 2011

Egypt's Ambassador to India Khaled el Bakly met Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) S Y Quraishi recently and sought assistance in conducting the proposed September elections after Hosni Mubarak's ouster.

Source: The Times of India, New Delhi

3. India to provide 'wonder' EVMs to Egypt: EC Quraishi

Cairo, Friday, 22 April 2011

Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi, who is on a five-day visit to Egypt to apprise top officials about India's electoral system and the usage of electronic voting machines, has said it would provide these electronic devices to Egypt to assist in its electoral process in the post-Mubarak era.

Source: The Indian Express, New Delhi;

Also See: The Statesman, Kolkata; The Hindu, Chennai; The Hindu, Chennai

Iran

4. India bans Iran nuclear-related trade

New Delhi, Saturday, 2 April 2011

Making changes in foreign policy trade rules to conform with the UN sanctions on Iran related to its nuclear and missile development programme, India banned trade in all equipment, goods and technology which could contribute to Iran’s enrichment-related, reprocessing or heavy water-related activities or to the development of nuclear weapon delivery systems.

Source: Khaleej Times, Dubai

Under pressure from the West, Germany has stopped accepting money from India for onward transfer to an Iranian-owned, Hamburg-based bank, towards payments for the import of crude oil.

Source: The Indian Express, New Delhi; Also See: Business Standard, Mumbai

6. India looks to new banks for Iran's crude

New Delhi, Tuesday, 12 April 2011



New Delhi is considering banks in Dubai as a channel to make payments to Iran for crude oil after a German bank backed away from the deal, an Indian official said.

Source: United Press International

7. Rupee option for Iran crude

New Delhi, Monday, 18 April 2011

India is studying the option of paying for crude oil from Iran in rupees even as it is working on an interim arrangement to pay in hard currencies through a Middle Eastern bank. However, the Reserve Bank of India has vetoed the move till now as India has a high trade imbalance with Iran.

Source: The Telegraph, Kolkata

8. India exploring Iran oil payment via Turkey: Oil ministry source

New Delhi, Wednesday, 27 April 2011

India is exploring payments via Turkey for oil imports from Iran, an Indian oil ministry source said, as the two countries search for a way to settle their trade after a long standing clearing system was scrapped by New Delhi.

Source: The Economic Times, New Delhi

Iraq

9. India's to have envoy in Iraq after gap of 6 years

New Delhi, Sunday, 24 April 2011

After a gap of six years India is all set to appoint an ambassador to Iraq. Government officials confirmed that joint secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs Suresh K Reddy, who looks after India's multilateral economic relations with ASEAN countries, will take over as India's ambassador in Iraq next month.

Source: The Times of India, New Delhi

10. Five Indians missing in Iraq

Dubai, Tuesday, 26 April 2011

Five Keralites among some 1300 Indians working in various places in the strife-torn Iraq are believed to be missing, a senior diplomat said on Monday.

Source: The Times of India, New Delhi

Israel

11. Three week fest to commemorate Indo-Israel diplomatic ties

Tel Aviv, Wednesday, 6 April 2011

As part of the first Indian Celebration in Israel Festival, renowned artists from India would be in Israel to participate in a three-week-long (29 April-25 May) cultural festival to commemorate twenty years of Indo-Israel diplomatic relations.

Source: The Economic Times, New Delhi

Libya

12. Indian envoy "provocative" over Libya

United Nations, Friday, 8 April 2011

India’s envoy to the Un Hardeep Singh Puri has criticized the Libyan rebels engaged in a fierce battle with forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi and the global community's support to them. Puri said that the relatively peaceful uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia showed a universal validity of the Gandhian principle of ahimsa.

Source: Deccan Herald, Hyderabad

Saudi Arabia

13. Indian-Saudi exhibition to highlight shared values of women

Riyadh, Wednesday, 27 April 2011

An exhibit of 200 paintings by 18 Indians and 36 Saudis, all women, would open on 30 May at the National Museum in Riyadh. The title of the exhibit, “Reflections,” was chosen by the museum’s Chairperson of the Consecutive Committee Princess Adela bint Abdullah and the wife of the Indian Ambassador, Soneeta Ahmed.

Source: Arab News, Riyadh

Multilateral

14. Antony to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar next month

New Delhi, Thursday, 28 April 2011

Defence minister A K Antony would be visiting Saudi Arabia and Qatar in early-May to bolster defence cooperation with the two countries.

Source: The Times of India, New Delhi

Economic Issues

Bahrain

15. Bahrain unrest gets to Indian banks

Mumbai, Friday, 8 April 2011

The escalating tensions in Bahrain following the recent unrest in the region have prompted Indian banks to put on hold their expansion plans in the island nation. Bahrain has of late emerged as a regional hub for banking because of low tax rates and easy regulations.

Source: Business Standard, Mumbai

Kuwait

16. Government strikes oil import deals with Kuwait

New Delhi, Tuesday, 19 April 2011

Faced with uncertainty on crude oil imports from Iran and North Africa, on Monday India sought to step up its crude purchase from Kuwait.

Source: The Financial Express, New Delhi

Morocco

17. India wants to buy pulses, olive oil and fertiliser from Morocco

New Delhi, Thursday, 28 April 2011

India wants to buy pulses, olive oil and fertiliser from Morocco, India's food minister KV Thomas told reporters after meeting Moroccan Foreign Trade Minister Abdellatif Maazous.

Source: Reuters

Qatar

18. Indian trade team meets Qatari businessmen

Doha, Tuesday, 26 April 2011

Members of a visiting Indian trade delegation under the aegis of the Confederation of Indian Industries met their Qatari counterparts yesterday and discussed ways to boost mutual cooperation. The delegation comprised senior representatives of 11 Indian companies from different sectors.

Source: The Peninsula, Doha

19. India Petronet LNG seeks 2-4 million Tonne extra supplies from Qatar

New Delhi, Tuesday, 26 April 2011

India's Petronet LNG is seeking 2-4 million tonnes more of LNG from Qatar, its Chief Executive A. K. Balyan said on Tuesday. “We have signed a deal to buy 1.5 million tonnes LNG for 2011/12 and 2012/13 from Spanish firm Gas Natural,” Balyan also said.

Source: Reuters

Saudi Arabia

20. Saudi Arabia & India ties are no more just crude

New Delhi, Monday, 25 April 2011

Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to India has said that capitalizing on excellent political relations and high economic growth, private companies from India and Saudi Arabia are exploring investment opportunities in the other country.

Source: The Financial Express, New Delhi

Turkey

21. India, Turkey to discuss FTA to boost bilateral trade

New Delhi, Tuesday, 19 April 2011

Turkey has said it will discuss opening up of their markets with India under a free trade agreement (FTA). “We will be discussing issues relating to non-tariff and tariff barriers under FTA with Indian authorities,” Turkish Trade Minister Zafer Caglayan said here in his address to India-Turkey Business Forum.

Source: Business Standard, Mumbai; Also See: Business Line, Chennai

United Arab Emirates

22. Demand for Indian bankers up 25% in UAE

Mumbai, Monday, 4 April 2011

There is an up to 25 percent rise in demand for Indian banking professionals in the global market, especially from Africa and the UAE, as firms seek to cash in on their experience, leading human resources firm GlobalHunt has said.

Source: The Financial Express, New Delhi

23. Kalam calls for India-Dubai energy platform

Dubai, Tuesday, 19 April 2011

Proposing an India-Dubai joint energy platform, former president Dr A P J Abdul Kalam has said that it should focus on research, development and implementation of a green energy solution.

Source: Business Standard, Mumbai

Compiled by Priyanka Chandra

Priyanka Chandra is a Research student at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. Email

As part of its editorial policy, the MEI@ND standardizes spelling and date formats to make the text uniformly accessible and stylistically consistent. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views/positions of the MEI@ND. Editor, MEI@ND: P R Kumaraswamy