IRAN
1. India explores option to pay for Iran oil through Russia
New Delhi, Friday, 16 December 2011
India is exploring the option of routing payments for the crude oil it buys from Iran through Russia, a senior Indian official said, indicating to the three-day visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Moscow.
Source: Tehran Times, Tehran

2. India, Russia Against Unilateral Sanctions on Iran
Moscow, Friday, 16 December 2011
India and Russia warned against unilateral sanctions on Iran, in an apparent reference to actions taken by US and other Western nations, and advocated the use of political and diplomatic means to resolve the tensions arising out of Tehran's nuclear programme.
Source: Outlook, New Delhi

3. Refiners explore replacing Iranian oil
New Delhi, Saturday, 17 December 2011
Indian companies have begun talks with alternative suppliers to slowly replace Iranian oil, fearing their current mechanism for payments to Tehran for some 350,000 barrels a day (bpd) via Turkey could soon succumb to sanctions, industry sources said.
Source: Reuters

4. ‘No hitch in India-Iran pipeline project'
New Delhi, Saturday, 24 December 2011
India and Iran held high-level talks during which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said bilateral cooperation between the two countries would continue despite problems in making payments for imported oil.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

IRAQ
5. Iraq Purchases 120,000 Tons of Rice from India, Pakistan
Baghdad, Tuesday, 6 December 2011
Iraq bought 120,000 metric tons of rice from India and Pakistan, the Middle East country’s Grain Board said. The total amount consisted of 90,000 tons of the grain from Pakistan and 30,000 tons from India.
Source: Business Week, New York

ISRAEL
6. FTA Will Help Treble Indo-Israel Trade: Minister
Jerusalem, Saturday, 10 December 2011
As it negotiates a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India, Israel has exuded confidence that the landmark pact will help treble the bilateral trade, which is set to touch USD 6 billion this year.
Source: Outlook, New Delhi

7. Post-Iran deal fiasco, India gets Israel’s gas offer
New Delhi, Monday, 19 December 2011
Iran, which could have been a major supplier of LNG, cancelled a huge deal to India after it had been signed, following India's vote against its nuclear programme in the IAEA. Israel, which suddenly finds itself flush with natural gas, has offered to export it to India.
Source: The Times of India, New Delhi

KUWAIT
8. Kuwait to invest in Indian industries
Chandigarh, Friday, 9 December 2011
The Ambassador of Kuwait, Sami Mohammad Al-Sulaiman, in a meeting with Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, informed that Kuwait is in the process of making investments in Indian petrochemicals, fertilizers, healthcare and education sectors.
Source: Indian Express, New Delhi

OMAN
9. India second-best market for Oman's non-oil exports
Dubai, Thursday, 22 December 2011
Trade ties between India and Oman have grown exponentially in the last five years and bilateral trade between the two sides touched USD 4.5 billion between April 2009 and March 2010, a senior Indian diplomat has said.
Source: The Deccan Herald, Hyderabad

10. Oman keen to invest in India
New Delhi, Tuesday, 6 December 2011
Buoyed by the success of Bina refinery, Oman is keen on investing more in India particularly in the petrochemical sector and is exploring opportunities with Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL).
Source: The Economic Times, New Delhi

QATAR
11. 'India is emerging gas market for Qatar'
Doha, Sunday, 18 December 2011
"Cooperation in Power sector between India and Qatar is under way and New Delhi has evidenced keen interest in importing additional natural gas from Qatar in the recently concluded World Petroleum Congress," said R Seetharaman, CEO of Doha Bank.
Source: Indian Express, New Delhi

SAUDI ARABIA
12. SBI launches operations in Saudi Arabia
Jeddah, Wednesday, 14 December 2011
State Bank of India (SBI), India's largest commercial bank will launch its operations in Saudi Arabia as the first authorized Indian financial institution in the kingdom.
Source: The Times of India, New Delhi

SYRIA
13. ONGC considers importing Syrian crude
New Delhi, Thursday, 8 December 2011
ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas investment arm of state-run explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp, is considering importing crude oil from Syria, where it has equity oil, junior Oil Minister R.P.N. Singh told lawmakers.
Source: Reuters

14. India Supports Russia Condemning Syrian Violence
United Nations, Saturday, 17 December 2011
India has expressed its support to a draft resolution brought by Russia at the UN Security Council that strongly condemns the violence in Syria by "all parties" but does not talk about imposing sanctions or an arms embargo on Syria.
Source: Outlook, New Delhi

TURKEY
15. Turkey refuses to open BPCL a/c for Iran oil-sources
New Delhi, Thursday, 15 December 2011
Turkey's Halkbank has refused to open an account for India's BPCL to settle payments for Iranian oil imports, three oil industry sources told Reuters.
Source: Reuters

UAE
16. Team to visit UAE to broker Indian prisoners' release
Dubai, Saturday, 3 December 2011
To secure the release of Indians jailed in the United Arab Emirates, a team of three members drawn from various Indian migrant councils will negotiate with the jail officials in the UAE.
Source: NDTV, New Delhi

17. Indian Property Show in Dubai expects US$ 51 million business
Dubai, Monday, 12 December 2011
Around 70 developers are expected to showcase as many as 300 projects worth US$ 5 billion at this week's Indian Property Show in Dubai, where business worth US$ 51 million is expected, organizers of the show said.
Source: The Economic Times, New Delhi

Compiled by Saumya Sharma

Saumya Sharma is an Intern at MEI@ND. 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