POLITICAL ISSUES
IRAN
1. India considering more investments in Iran
Tehran, Saturday, 4 May 2013
Announcing the joint development of the Chabahar port in Iran, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said that India was considering investments in several other projects to boost India-Iran-Afghanistan ties. Diplomatic sources said India was exploring investments in the Chabahar container terminal project and in the proposed Chabahar-Faraj-Bam railway.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

2. India to develop Iranian port
Tehran, Sunday, 5 May 2013
External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid announced India’s participation in the Chabahar port project and said that this move would reinforce India’s strategic ties with Tehran and Kabul.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

3. India set to scale up ties with Iran; joint exploration on cards
New Delhi, Monday, 6 May 2013
Notwithstanding sanctions against Iran, India is set to scale up economic and commercial engagement with proposals for joint investment in infrastructure and oil exploration with Iran.
Source: The Economic Times, New Delhi

4. How India dealt with Iran without treading on U.S. toes
New Delhi, Wednesday, 15 May 2013
India has managed to balance the task of assuaging American concerns about Tehran while confirming with Iran plans to participate in developing a port. During External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid’s recent visit India insisted with the Iranians that only Afghanistan must be mentioned in the portion of the joint statement on their agreement to co-develop the Chabahar port.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

5. Iran offers oilfield, pipeline to India for raising oil import
New Delhi, Monday, 27 May 2013
Rattled by India's sharp cut in purchase of its oil, Iran offered oilfields on lucrative terms, of routing gas pipeline through sea to avoid Pakistan and to provide insurance to refiners if India raised oil imports. Iran sent a high-level delegation led by its Oil Minister Rostam Ghasemi to impress upon India to raise oil purchases, which were cut to 13.3 million tons in 2012-13 from 18 million tons in the previous year.
Source: The Economic Times, New Delhi; See Also: Business Standard, New Delhi

IRAQ
6. Iraq may increase oil supply to India by 30 percent: Minister
New Delhi, Sunday, 26 May 2013
Iraq is likely to increase oil supply to India by around 30 per cent as shipments from regional rival Iran drop following sanctions from the US and European countries, a senior Iraqi minister has said.
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi

ISRAEL
7. Israeli consulate inaugurated in city
Bangalore, Tuesday, 21 May 2013
Israel’s second consulate in India — the other two being in Mumbai — was inaugurated in Bangalore. Speaking on the occasion, which also marked the 65th anniversary of the founding of Israel, Israel’s Ambassador Alon Ushpiz said that only three other countries in the world have more than three Israeli missions.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

PALESTINE
8. India always had consensus on Palestine: Khurshid
New Delhi, Wednesday, 22 May 2013
Pointing out the centrality of Palestine, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid underlined its vital significance for India and added: “In our country the consensus on the Palestinian cause cuts across all political parties, regions, sections and communities. It is a truly national consensus for Palestine.”
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi

QATAR
9. FM to meet Qatari minister, business leaders today
Dubai, Saturday, 18 May 2013
Seeking to enhance bilateral trade and cooperation Finance Minister P Chidambaram held discussions with Qatar's Minister of Economy and Finance Yousuf Hussain Kamal and interacted with business leaders at Doha.
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi

SAUDI ARABIA
10. Nitaqat law: Emergency exit papers of 18,000 Indians processed
Dubai, Friday, 10 May 2013
About 18,000 Indian workers in Saudi Arabia, who had applied for emergency exit papers amid concerns about possible job losses after a new labour law, had their travel documents processed.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

11. New concession for Indians in Saudi Arabia
New Delhi, Sunday, 12 May 2013
The Saudi government has announced a new concession to the expatriates who are affected by the Nitaqat law to be enforced in the kingdom. The announcement would greatly benefit a large number of Indian expatriates, 100,000, said Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahamed.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

12. Riyadh returns passports of stranded Indians
Dubai, Tuesday, 14 May 2013
Saudi Arabia has handed over about 15,000 passports of stranded Indian workers, surrendered by their Saudi sponsors, to the Indian Embassy in Riyadh. This was part of its bid to resolve cases of immigration law violations.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

13. Salman Khurshid to visit Saudi Arabia on 24 May
New Delhi, Tuesday, 14 May 2013
External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid paid a three-day visit to Saudi Arabia which begun on 24 May, at the invitation of his counterpart Prince Saud al-Faisal.
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi

14. Saudi Arabia supports regulated flow of foreign workers
Jeddah, Sunday, 26 May 2013
Saudi Arabia has assured India that it would continue to encourage regulated flow of foreign workers, within the framework of its labour reforms that hope to contain the country’s “youth bulge” by generating employment for hundreds of thousands of Saudi nationals in the future.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

15. India, Saudi Arabia to deepen counter-terror cooperation
Jeddah, Sunday, 26 May 2013
India and Saudi Arabia have decided to further strengthen and deepen their counter-terrorism cooperation, nearly a year after Riyadh deported Abu Jundal who was wanted in connection with the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack.
Source: The Economic Times, New Delhi; See Also: Business Standard, New Delhi

UAE
16. UAE PM hails bilateral relationship with India
Dubai, Monday, 13 May 2013
The UAE Prime Minister has hailed the close relationship between India and the gulf country saying that the social and trade ties between the two nations have become stronger.
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi

ECONOMIC ISSUES
QATAR
17. Bharti Airtel gains after Qatar Foundation buys stake
Doha, Friday, 3 May 2013
It was announced that the Qatar Foundation made a huge investment in and bought stakes from the Bharti Airtel Company.
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi

MISCELLANEOUS
EGYPT
18. Indian submarine gets Egyptian help
Cairo, Tuesday, 28 May 2013
India’s submarine INS Sindhurakshak received help from the Egyptian Navy when it encountered extreme bad weather and rough sea on its way back home after mid-life upgrade in Russia.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

SAUDI ARABIA
19. India to hold road shows in Saudi Arabia to attract tourists
Dubai, Monday, 13 May 2013
Towards attracting high-end tourists, India organized tourism road shows across Saudi Arabia in May which were held in Jeddah (19 May) Riyadh (21 May) and Dhammam (22 May).
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi

Compiled by Manjari Singh

Manjari Singh is a doctoral candidate 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