POLITICAL ISSUES
IRAN
1. Iran seeks leeway to spend oil dues
New Delhi, Thursday, 8 January 2015
Iran seeks more flexibility in using an estimated US$6 billion in accumulated oil payments from India to buy "non-sanctioned" items beyond "humanitarian goods" from third world countries as oil prices soar high.
Source: The Times of India, New Delhi

2. India Revives Plans to Set Up Fertilizer Plant in Iran
Bengaluru, Monday, 19 January 2015
The government has revived its plan to set up a fertilizer plant in Iran as reliance on imports of urea has increased.
Source: The New Indian Express, Chennai

OMAN
3. India, Oman mark diamond jubilee of diplomatic ties
Muscat, Monday, 5 January 2015
Marking the 60th anniversary of India-Oman diplomatic relations, Indian Coast Guard Ship Vijit visited Oman to cement their deep-rooted ties.
Source: Zee News, New Delhi

4. India-Oman ties flourishing, says Indian ambassador
Muscat, Tuesday, 27 January 2015
As the Indian Embassy in Oman marked India's 66th Republic Day, Ambassador JS Mukul spoke about India’s flourishing relations with Oman.
Source: Times of Oman, Muscat

PALESTINE
5. Delay in financial aid affecting India-Palestine relations
New Delhi, Wednesday, 7 January 2015
Domestic financial constraints have caused the delay in releasing the US$10 million aid that was announced earlier by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. According to External Affairs Ministry, this delay is “adversely affecting India’s bilateral ties with the Palestine government.”
Source: The Hindustan Times, New Delhi

SAUDI ARABIA
6. ‘National mourning’ for dead Saudi King
New Delhi, Saturday, 24 January 2015
Few hours after Prime Minister Modi said that he was “saddened” by the demise of Saudi King Abdullah, the government announced a ‘day of national mourning’ as a mark of respect.
Source: The Indian Express, Mumbai; See also: Yahoo news, New Delhi

ECONOMIC ISSUES
QATAR
7. Qatar Airways keen to buy stake in IndiGo
Doha, Thursday, 8 January 2015
Qatar Airways is keen to buy equity in IndiGo if the Indian carrier offers 49 per cent of stakes.
Source: The Financial Express, New Delhi

UAE
8. Abu Dhabi plans to boost Indian tourists
Abu Dhabi, Friday, 30 January 2015
Abu Dhabi’s tourism sector is heading to India’s most prominent B2B travel industry expo as India has regained its position as the Emirate’s largest overseas source market for hotel guests.
Source: Khaleej Times, Dubai

MISCELLANEOUS ISSUES
UAE
9. Two Indian expats in UAE receive Pravasi Bharatiya Award
Dubai, Saturday, 10 January 2015
An Indian social worker in the UAE who has helped repatriate nearly 2,000 dead bodies and another who boosted Indo-UAE relations in business, were among 15 prominent Non-Resident Indians who received their home country’s highest honour.
Source: Khaleej Times, Dubai

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