POLITICAL ISSUES
EGYPT
1. Egypt’s Morsi pitches for ‘E-BRICS’
Cairo, Tuesday, 19 March 2013
Confident of navigating his country’ s post-revolution transition, Egypt’s President Mohamed Morsi arrived in India on Monday, 18 March to anchor a special relationship and flag his country’s ambition of joining the ranks of the world’s “emerging countries.” Morsi expressed Egypt’s deep interest in joining the Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (BRICS) combine and turning the grouping into E-BRICS.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

2. India can help Egypt build defence industry
Cairo, Tuesday, 19 March 2013
The Egyptian President, Mohamed Morsi acknowledged that he foresaw India fitted prominently into Cairo’s plans to develop Information Technology (IT), small and medium enterprises as well as a national defence industry. The President said Egypt wanted to establish a “unique relationship” with India in the area of defence as “in military industry also, India is quite advanced” and identified military navigation, electronics and maintenance as some of the priority areas.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

3. India, Egypt to step up defence ties
New Delhi, Wednesday, 20 March 2013
India and Egypt agreed to intensify their defence relationship which had remained in limbo after a period of intense cooperation on the international stage in the 1950s. “We also agreed to enhance our defence exchanges and cooperation,” said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after a summit meeting with the Egyptian President, Mohamed Morsi.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

IRAN
4. India set to halt Iran oil imports over insurance
New Delhi, Friday, 8 March 2013
India is set to halt all crude imports from Iran because insurance companies in the country have said refineries processing the oil would no longer be covered due to Western sanctions, the head of refiner Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) said.
Source: Reuters, U.K.

5. India asks EU to clarify stance on Iran oil insurance
New Delhi, Friday, 22 March 2013
India has sought clarification from the European Union on insuring oil supplies from Iran as trade with Tehran gets tougher due to Western sanctions, India's Foreign Minister said on Friday.
Source: Reuters, U.K.

KUWAIT
6. High-level delegation from Kuwait to visit India this month
Dubai, Monday, 4 March 2013
A high-level delegation from Kuwait would be visiting India later this month, which would pave the way for further economic cooperation, India's Ambassador to Kuwait, Satish C Mehta, has said. The visit would be followed by the meeting of the Joint Ministerial Commission in Kuwait.
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi

SAUDI ARABIA
7. Saudi Malayalis jittery as Nitaqat deadline ends today
Kochi, Wednesday, 27 March 2013
Tens of thousands of Malayali workers in Saudi Arabia are on edge as the deadline for the Saudization programme called Nitaqat (meaning neutralization) ends on Wednesday. They face the prospect of being forced to wind up and leave on their own or face deportation, should the Saudi government stick to its plan of Saudization. Nearly two million expatriate workers, the largest chunk being Indians, would have to leave Saudi Arabia as the firms, companies, and businesses they work for have failed to comply with the Nitaqat programme.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

8. New Saudi law may hit Indian jobs
Dubai, Thursday, 28 March 2013
South Asian workers — a majority of whom are from India employed in the small and medium enterprises in Saudi Arabia — are likely to be hit hard as the Kingdom goes ahead with its plans to expand employment avenues for its own nationals in the backdrop of the Arab Spring.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

9. No need for panic over Saudi job law: Ravi
Thiruvananthapuram/ New Delhi, Friday, 29 March 2013
At a news conference Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi said the government was working through the embassy in the kingdom to minimize the impact of the new law. “There is no reason to panic, though there will certainly be some problems,” said the Minister.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

10. We’re monitoring Saudi situation: Vayalar Ravi
New Delhi, Saturday, 30 March 2013
Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi on Friday said the Indian government was constantly monitoring the situation in Saudi Arabia through its embassy in Riyadh in view of the Kingdom’s proposed implementation of the Nitaqat programme in its employment sector.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

11. Minister asks PM to take up ‘Nitaqat’ issue with Riyadh
New Delhi, Sunday, 31 March 2013
The Saudi Arabia government’s decision to strictly implement the Nitaqat law, under which 10 per cent jobs would be reserved for Saudi nationals, caused much worries among the Indian expatriates there, particularly those from Kerala. Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation K.C. Venugopal wrote a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking his immediate intervention and suggested that considering the friendly ties New Delhi had with Riyadh, the Prime Minister could take up the issue through a high level diplomatic mission.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

12. No need for panic over Saudi Nitaqat law, says Chandy
Thiruvananthapuram, Sunday, 31 March 2013
There is no need for panic over Saudi Arabia’s decision to impose the restrictive job law, Nitaqat, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

SYRIA
13. Damascus hopes BRICS will help end violence
New Delhi, Saturday, 9 March 2013
Damascus hopes that (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) BRICS’ summit in Durban would be able to come out with an initiative to ending the violence in Syria. “There are the BRICS countries who are at least introducing reason into what is happening in the international community,” Bouthaina Shaaban, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s Special Envoy said in New Delhi.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

TURKEY
14. Turkey's relations with Pakistan should not impact India: Feridun Sinirlioglu
New Delhi, Friday, 1 March 2013
Turkey and India have converging interests in key areas like trade, anti-terrorism and regional development. However, Turkey's relationship with Pakistan remains a talking point. Feridun Sinirlioglu, undersecretary of Turkey's ministry of foreign affairs observed when discussing the issue of managing two important relationships.
Source: The Times of India, New Delhi

UAE
15. Jet-Etihad deal: India working to assuage UAE's investments concerns; PM to visit Abu Dhabi
Mumbai, Tuesday, 5 March 2013
The Indian government is moving fast to assuage the UAE government's concerns regarding investments from that country in India, an assurance that is seen as a crucial perquisite to successful completion of the Jet-Etihad deal.
Source: The Economic Times, New Delhi; See Also: Reuters, U.K.

ECONOMIC RELATIONS
EGYPT
16. India, Egypt to strengthen economic relations
Cairo, Tuesday, 12 March 2013
India and Egypt have agreed to work towards early resolution of some of the issues faced by major Indian companies that are operating projects in Egypt. The India-Egypt Joint Trade Committee held its first meeting in Cairo on 10 March 2013 where both sides welcomed the significant increase in Indian investments in Egypt.
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi

17. Egypt considers India for wheat imports
Cairo, Wednesday, 20 March 2013
Egypt is considering buying Indian wheat as a way to diversify its sources, an Egyptian minister told an Indian newspaper, as the top global importer seeks to ensure supply to meet its economic crisis.
Source: Reuters, U.K.

IRAN
18. India trumps Pakistan's Iran rice trade boom with oil rupees
Dubai, Friday, 8 March 2013    
Indian rice exports to Iran have bounced back, thanks to shippers being paid up front in rupees from a huge pool of oil money owed to Iran by Indian refiners. "Now business is being done directly because Iran is allowed to open letters of credit in Indian rupees because the government has to pay money to Iran for the oil," said Suresh Manchanda, marketing director of a Delhi-based company which exports rice, wheat and sugar globally.
Source: Reuters, U.K.

TUNISIA
19. Tatas looks to expand in Africa; new CV plants, hotels on anvil
New Delhi, Monday, 18 March 2013
Tata Motors is looking to set up new assembly facilities through local partners in countries like Tunisia and the group's hospitality chain Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces is considering "proposals from three-four" countries to set up new properties.
Source: The Economic Times, New Delhi; See Also: Reuters, U.K.

MISCELLANEOUS
IRAN
20. Two arrested Iranians remanded in judicial custody
Madurai, Monday, 25 March 2013
Two Iranian nationals, arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in Sivaganga district for manufacturing methamphetamine, were produced at a judicial court on Sunday, 24 March 2013.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

21. Iranian held in drug racket was PoW
Chennai, Sunday, 31 March 2013
Mosavi Masoud (49), one of the two Iranian nationals arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) from a clandestine laboratory manufacturing methamphetamine in Sivaganga district on 22 March 2013, was a former Prisoner of War (PoW), agency sources said.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

SAUDI ARABIA
22. Saudi restricts Hajj for private pilgrims
Kozhikode, Tuesday, 19 March 2013
Saudi Arabia has restricted the Hajj undertaken by pilgrims through private tour operators to only once in five years. On 18 January 2013, the Ministry of External Affairs directed the Hajj Committee of India (HCOI) to restrict the number of pilgrimage for an applicant going through it to “once in a life time” as against the earlier norm of “once in five years.”
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

23. Migrant worker’s body brought back
Eluru, Friday, 22 March 2013
Ponnaganti Lakshmi, a daily wage-earner from Adivarapupeta in city, has finally got the body of her husband, who died in Saudi Arabia, after a three-month-long wait. With the arrival of the body, her wish to perform the last rites of her husband, a construction worker, was fulfilled belatedly.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

24. Seven Indians killed in Saudi godown fire
Malappuram, Wednesday, 27 March 2013
Seven Indians, six of them Keralites, were killed in a fire in a furniture godown run by a Malayali at Gafara, 10 km from Hail town, in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday morning.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

Compiled by Manjari Singh

Manjari Singh is pursuing her M Phil degree in 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