POLITICAL RELATIONS
BAHRAIN
1. Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj to visit Bahrain
New Delhi, Wednesday, 3 September 2014
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj visited Bahrain where she discussed investments in India and highlighted the initiatives taken by the new government to spur economic growth.
Source: The Economic Times, New Delhi

2. India committed to bring back growth: Swaraj
Manama, Saturday, 6 September 2014
Expressing the government's gratitude to Bahrain for receiving and hosting so many Indians, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said, "India and Bahrain enjoy excellent bilateral relations. There is a large degree of convergence between Bahrain and India on a range of international issues.” She also stressed on India’s commitment to bring back its growth rate.
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi

ISRAEL
3. Israel offers help in Modi's Ganga cleaning project
New Delhi, Tuesday, 9 September 2014
Israel has expressed interest in sharing its expertise on water purification and waste water treatment under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pet project for cleaning river Ganga.
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi

4. PM's US visit: Narendra Modi to meet Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu
Jerusalem, Sunday, 28 September 2014
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly and discussed ways to step up bilateral relations in a range of areas like defence and trade ties.
Source: The Economic Times, New Delhi; See Also: The Hindu, Chennai

5. Netanyahu briefs Modi on Islamic State
New York, Tuesday, 30 September 2014
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu briefed his counterpart Narendra Modi about Israel’s perspectives on the Islamic State. The conversation assumes significance as it came before Modi’s dinner meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

KUWAIT
6. Bank guarantee must to bring Indian maids to Kuwait
Dubai, Sunday, 14 September 2014
To safeguard the welfare of its nationals, India has made it mandatory for employers in Kuwait to submit a bank guarantee of US$ 2,500 before bringing a female domestic help.
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi

SAUDI ARABIA
7. India-Saudi Arabia cooperation to grow: Modi
New Delhi, Tuesday, 23 September 2014
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the cooperation between India and Saudi Arabia “will grow in the years to come”, while greeting its people on their National Day.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

ECONOMIC RELATIONS
IRAN
8. India ships in 50 per cent more Iranian oil in January-August
New Delhi, Thursday, 18 September 2014
Indian imports of Iranian oil rose by nearly half to 271,000 barrels per day (bpd) in January-August from a year ago, when refineries cut purchases due to worries about insurance coverage for processing crude from Tehran.
Source: The Economic Times, New Delhi; See Also: Business Today, New Delhi; Business Standard, New Delhi

IRAQ
9. Crompton Greaves wins US$25 million contract in Iraq
Mumbai, Friday, 26 September 2014
Crompton Greaves (CG), an Avantha Group company, has been awarded a US$ 25 million contract for the design, construction and delivery of 16 mobile substations by the General Directorate for Transmission, Upper Euphrates Region, and Ministry of Electricity in Iraq.
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi

ISRAEL
10. Israeli Ambassador Meets Agriculture Minister
New Delhi, Thursday, 18 September 2014
Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh welcomed the Israeli ambassador Daniel Carmon and said that an action plan 2012-15 is being implemented in several states of the country, which include Haryana, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Bihar, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. India and Israel are collaborating in agriculture, horticulture, dairy, water, irrigation, seeds development and many other sectors.
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi

MOROCCO
11. Indian Hotels walks out of Morocco luxury hotel
Mumbai, Wednesday, 10 September 2014
Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL), which runs the Taj group of hotels, exited from a Moroccan five star hotel under its management from December 2012 as the property owner is facing financial problems.
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi

OMAN
12. Mutual fund scheme launched for NRI investors in Oman
Dubai, Tuesday, 16 September 2014
A new mutual fund scheme for NRI investors in Oman has been launched by an Indian asset management company.
Source: The Economic Times, New Delhi

QATAR
13. Doha Bank to acquire India operations of HSBC Oman
Mumbai, Tuesday, 30 September 2014
Qatar-based Doha Bank plans to acquire the Indian assets of HSBC Bank Oman. The board of Doha Bank has authorized the purchase of the Indian assets of HSBC Bank Oman SOAG, and has called a shareholders' meeting in November to approve the deal.
Source: The Economic Times, New Delhi

SAUDI ARABIA
14. TCS opens Saudi Arabia's first all-woman BPO centre
Mumbai, Sunday, 14 September 2014
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has opened Saudi Arabia's first all-female business process centre, which will provide employment to up to 3,000 women in three years.
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi

MISCELLANEOUS ISSUES
BAHRAIN
15. Indian Diaspora Engagement Meet to be held in Bahrain
Manama, Thursday, 4 September 2014
Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) through Overseas Indian Facilitation Centre (OIFC) will organize the first 'Indian Diaspora Engagement Meet' of the year on 6 September.
Source: The Economic Times, New Delhi

16. Bahrain King Praises Indian Expatriates
Manama, Monday, 8 September 2014
Bahrain's King Hamad lauded the Indian expatriate community for its contribution in pushing forward the island nation's development.
Source: NDTV, New Delhi

17. Apollo Hospitals explore partnerships in Bahrain
Dubai, Monday, 8 September 2014
India's Apollo Hospitals is exploring partnership opportunities in the super-specialty sector of the healthcare industry in Bahrain.
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi

18. Cadila Pharma plans for manufacturing facility in Bahrain
Dubai, Tuesday, 9 September 2014
The Gujarat-based generic drug manufacturer Cadila Pharmaceuticals is exploring possibility of setting up a manufacturing facility in Bahrain.
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi

OMAN
19. Omanis opting for India as medical tourism destination
Dubai, Wednesday, 17 September 2014
India has become a favourite destination for Omanis seeking advanced medicare, with the number of visas issued to Omanis from 1 January to August this year has jumped to 61,000 which were only 3,400 in 2012.
Source: The Economic Times, New Delhi; See Also: The Times of India, 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