POLITICAL ISSUES
IRAN
1. Hillary presses India to cut oil imports from Iran
Kolkata, Monday, 7 May 2012
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged India to do “even more” to cut its purchases of oil from sanctions-hit Iran to keep pressure on that country to prove its nuclear programme is peaceful.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

2. Iranian foreign Minister meets Krishna
New Delhi, Wednesday, 30 May 2012
India conveyed to Iran that its refiners’ move to slash crude oil import is guided by commercial reasons and should not hurt multi-faceted ties between the two countries. External Affairs Minister S M Krishna explained to his Iranian counterpart Ali Akbar Salehi that Iran would continue to be a major source of energy for India, despite fresh US and European Union sanctions that would come into force on June 28 and July 1 respectively.
Source: Deccan Herald

3. India, Iran plan talks to bypass Western sanctions on Tehran
New Delhi, Thursday, 31 May 2012
India and Iran plan to hold intensive discussions on bypassing Western sanctions on Tehran's oil trade during Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi's two-day visit. The two sides are also likely to discuss joint efforts to combat piracy off the Gulf of Aden which has impacted their merchant shipping operations.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

4. Attempt to paint India in negative colour on Iran: Nirupama
Washington, Thursday, 31 May 2012
India has said that there is an attempt to paint it in negative colour on the issue of importing oil from Iran, arguing that it needs enormous energy for its 1.2 billion people.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

5. Diplomat car bombing: Iran to consider India's probe plan
New Delhi, Thursday, 31 May 2012
Iran strongly refuted Israel's allegations about its involvement in the bombing of an Israeli diplomat's car, but agreed to consider India's proposal to send a team of investigators to Tehran.
Source: Indo Asian News Service

ISRAEL
6. Israeli arms firm moves Delhi HC against Centre's 10-year ban
New Delhi, Friday, 04 May 2012
The Centre's decision to blacklist several defence firms has reached the Delhi high court. An Israeli firm, blacklisted by the government recently, has moved HC challenging the decision.
Source: The Times of India, New Delhi

ECONOMIC ISSUES
BAHRAIN
7. BCCI Chairman hails promoting the investment climate in Bahrain
Manama, Sunday, 27 May 2012
Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) Chairman, Dr. Essam Abdullah Fakhro stressed the need to project Bahrain's favourable investment climate and promote economic and industrial opportunities in regional and international gatherings.
Source: Bahrain News Agency

8. Bahrain business delegation to visit India
New Delhi, Wednesday, 30 May 2012
A business delegation from Bahrain is set to arrive in India this week as part of an official two-city state visit led by Crown Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa and Chairman of the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB).
Source: The Economics Times, New Delhi

9. India, Bahrain sign pact to boost ties
New Delhi, Thursday, 31 May 2012
India and Bahrain, announced the signing of a Tax Information Exchange Agreement to promote economic cooperation and joint investment between the two countries aimed at boosting bilateral trade that stands at US$ 1.7 billion.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

IRAN
10. India cuts crude oil imports from Iran
New Delhi, Tuesday, 15 May 2012
In the aftermath of the recent visit of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and an indication of rising U.S. pressure not to deal with Iran working, the Central Government admitted that it had cut the crude oil supplies from Iran by 11 per cent to 15.5 million tons this fiscal year.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

11. Unilateral sanctions will not impact India-Iran trade
New Delhi, Thursday, 31 May 2012
Describing Iran as a key trading partner for energy, India made it clear that unilateral sanction by the US and European Union will not be allowed to impact trade between the two countries.
Source: Economic Times, New Delhi

OMAN
12. Oman's oil exports to India drop 88% in Q1
Dubai, Tuesday, 29 May 2012
Indian imports of Oman's crude oil in the first quarter of 2012 dropped by 88.1 percent compared to the same period last year, as India increased imports from Iran.
Source: Business Standard.

UAE
13. India to step up oil imports from UAE
New Delhi, Friday, 19 May 2012
India and the UAE discussed the prospects of closer energy ties including more import of oil, which could partly offset declining purchases from Iran, and investment in the downstream sector such as refineries.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

SAUDI ARABIA
14. Saudi biz keen on joint ventures in manufacturing with India
Dubai, Thursday, 3 May 2012
Saudi Arabian industry wants Indian businesses to set up manufacturing plants across the Kingdom and push bilateral trade beyond oil and its products, a trade official has said.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

MISCELLANEOUS
ISRAEL
15. IDF attache in India to receive luxury apartment
New Delhi, Tuesday, 29 May 2012
Israel’s Defence Ministry decided to upgrade residence following February terror attack in New Delhi; new crib estimated to cost between $15-20,000 a month.
Source: ynetnews.com

SAUDI ARABIA
16. Kerala tourism road show evokes big response in Saudi Arabia
Thiruvananthapuram, Tuesday, 15 May 2012
The road show organized by Kerala Tourism in Saudi Arabia has elicited a good response, according to an official spokesman.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

17. Saudi Arabia to recruit nurses from Kochi
Kochi, Monday, 28 May 2012
The Saudi Arabian health ministry is recruiting nurses from the State of Kerala.
Source: The Times of India, New Delhi

18. Govt begins probe on chemical dumping from S Arabia
New Delhi, Wednesday, 30 May 2012
India has initiated a probe into alleged dumping of a chemical by Saudi Arabia to protect domestic players from cheap imports.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

SYRIA
19. India issues travel advisory for Syria
New Delhi, Friday, 29 May 2012
The government has issued a travel advisory and asked Indian nationals to avoid all non-essential travel to Syria, following the death of two Indians in a bomb blast on the Syria-Iraq border.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai


Note: One Crore = 10 millions.

Compiled by Manjari Singh

Manjari Singh is pursuing her M Phil research in the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 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