POLITICAL ISSUES
BAHRAIN
1. India signs pact with Bahrain for cooperation on terrorism
New Delhi, Wednesday, 2 December 2015
India signed an agreement with Bahrain on cooperation in combating international terrorism and trans-national organized crime. It was signed between Internal Minister Rajnath Singh and Bahrain’s Interior Minister Lt. General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa.
Source: The Economic Times, Mumbai

2. Sushma to visit Bahrain for first India-Arab League ministerial
New Delhi, Wednesday, 16 December 2015
India is set to deepen its ties with the 22-member Arab League as part of its ‘Link West’ policy when External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj visits Bahrain on 20 December for the first ministerial meeting of the India-Arab League Cooperation Forum.
Source: The Statesman, Kolkata

ISRAEL
3. It’s now ok to speak of India-Israel defence ties… We’re not shy, ashamed: Daniel Carmon
New Delhi, Tuesday, 22 December 2015
In the event titled ‘Idea Exchange’ moderated by the National Editor (Strategic and International Affairs) of the Indian Express Praveen Swami, Israeli Ambassador to India Daniel Carmon discussed ways to improve India-Israel defence ties.
Source: The Indian Express, New Delhi

4. Indian Navy successfully test fires Long Range Barak 8 missile from INS Kolkata
New Delhi, Wednesday, 30 December 2015
India successfully conducted the maiden firing of its jointly developed Barak 8 Surface-to-Air missile (LRSM), crossing a significant milestones in enhancing its anti-air warfare capability. This was a joint venture between Israel Aerospace Industries and Defence Research and Development Organization, India.
Source: The Economic Times, Mumbai; See also: Reuters, London

IRAN
5. India attaches importance to ties with Iran: PM Modi
New Delhi, Tuesday, 29 December 2015
Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated that India attached high importance to its relations with Iran and showed keenness to further strengthen ties with it especially in trade, investment, oil and gas, connectivity and port development.
Source: The Indian Express, Mumbai; See also: The Economic Times, Mumbai

SAUDI ARABIA
6. Mumbai Police Commissioner Ahmad Javed is new envoy to Saudi Arabia
Mumbai, Saturday, 12 December 2015
Mumbai Police Commissioner Ahmad Javed who is a 1980-batch IPS officer, has been appointed as the next Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
Source: The Indian Express, Mumbai; See also: Hindustan Times, New Delhi; The Economic Times, Mumbai

ECONOMIC ISSUES
EGYPT
7.  Egypt wants Indian investment in Suez Economic Zone: Envoy 
New Delhi, Wednesday, 16 December 2015
Egyptian envoy to India Hatem Tageldin said that Egypt is keen that India should participate in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, a mega development project adjacent to the New Suez Canal, which would provide Indian investors close connectivity with both Europe and Africa.
Source: The Statesman, Kolkata

IRAN
8. India expresses interest in preferential trade agreement with Iran once sanctions are lifted
New Delhi, Tuesday, 1 December 2015
India has expressed its interest in signing a preferential trade agreement with Iran once international sanctions on the Persian Gulf nation are lifted.
Source: The Economic Times, Mumbai

9. Farzad-B gas field: India asks Iran to expedite procedures
New Delhi, Tuesday, 29 December 2015
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj met the Iranian Minister for Economic Affairs and Finance Ali Tayyebnia and urged Iran to expedite the completion of all necessary procedures for its participation in the US$5 billion Farzad-B gas field.
Source: The Economic Times, Mumbai

10. Iran, India ink economic co-op agreement, Chabahar Port in focus
Tehran, Wednesday, 30 December 2015
A comprehensive economic cooperation document was inked by Iranian Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Ali Tayyebnia and Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj. India would invest US$85 million in Iran’s south-eastern port of Chabahar.
Source: Tehran Times, Tehran; See also: The Economic Times, Mumbai

11.  India-Iran trade partnership: Delhi and Tehran to host each other’s bank branches
New Delhi, Thursday, 31 December 2015
Delhi and Tehran decided to host a chain of domestic banks in each other’s country. Iran's Pasargad and Parsian banks would open branches in Mumbai and Delhi respectively.
Source: The Economic Times, Mumbai

JORDAN
12. India, Jordan to promote co-operation in IT and electronics
New Delhi, Wednesday, 30 December 2015
India and Jordan would be promoting co-operation in information technology and electronics (IT&E) under a pact signed in October and this was conveyed to the Cabinet at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi

KUWAIT
13. India to organize conference on Indian firms' role in Kuwait's developmental process
Dubai, Tuesday, 8 December 2015
India organized a conference to discuss the role of Indian Engineering Procurement and Construction companies in Kuwait’s developmental process.
Source: The Economic Times, Mumbai

14. Mahindra Comviva to help Kuwait’s Ooredoo boost VAS revenues
Dubai, Wednesday, 9 December 2015
Mahindra Comviva, an Indian provider of mobility solutions, entered the Kuwait market by announcing its first-ever strategic value-added service business management deal with a communications company in the Gulf country.
Source: The Economic Times, Mumbai

OMAN
15. Remittance from Oman to India made easy with new facility
Dubai, Monday, 28 December 2015
A real time account credit facility has been established in Oman to help Indian expatriates to directly transfer money to India.
Source: The Economic Times, Mumbai

QATAR
16. India re-negotiating terms of gas contract with Qatar: Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan
New Delhi, Monday, 21 December 2015
Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan said that India is re-negotiating the terms of long-term gas contract with Qatar to reflect the slump in global energy rates but no binding agreement has been signed so far.
Source: The Economic Times, Mumbai

17. Accel Partners sells fractional stake in FlipKart to Qatar Investment Authority for US$100 million
New Delhi, Monday, 21 December 2015
Accel Partners sold a fractional stake in FlipKart to Qatar Investment Authority for US$100 million (about Rs 650 crore), in a deal that values India’s biggest online marketplace at US$15 billion.
Source: The Economic Times, Mumbai

18. India’s energy muscle helps Petronet get better Qatar gas deal
New Delhi, Thursday, 31 December 2015
India’s biggest gas importer Petronet LNG would buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar’s Rasgas at almost half the original price, in a renegotiated deal that would save about US$605 million a year.
Source: The Economic Times, Mumbai; See also: The Economic Times, Mumbai; Reuters, New York;  Business Line, Chennai

SAUDI ARABIA
19. India, Saudi Arabia try to sort out joint fund irritants
New Delhi, Monday, 14 December 2015
The Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs Anil Wadhwa said that India and Saudi Arabia are exploring ways to overcome the issue of exemption from capital gains tax on the proposed US$750-million joint fund to facilitate investments into the Indian infrastructure sector.
Source: The Economic Times, Mumbai

UAE
20. India to sign agreements with UAE for info on illegal bank a/c: CBDT
New Delhi, Monday, 21 December 2015
India is close to signing collaborative jurisdictional agreements with the United Arab Emirates for dealing with challenges related to the siphoning of black money, Central Board of Direct Taxation (CBDT) stated in its new report.
Source: The Economic Times, Mumbai

CULTURAL ISSUES
UAE
21. President Pranab Mukherjee greets people, government of UAE on their national day
New Delhi, Tuesday, 1 December 2015
President Pranab Mukherjee extended greetings to the people and the government of the UAE on the eve of their national day and expressed the hope that the two countries would work closely to further expand and deepen the bilateral relations.
Source: The Economic Times, Mumbai

MISCELLANEOUS ISSUES
QATAR
22. Qatar Airways plans to add new flight routes in India
Mumbai, Thursday, 10 December 2015
Premier Gulf carrier Qatar Airways planned to launch flights to new Indian destinations and add to its frequencies to bolster its operations in 2016.
Source: DNA, Mumbai; See also: The Economic Times, Mumbai

SAUDI ARABIA
23. Two Indians among three killed in missile attack in Saudi Arabia
New Delhi, Sunday, 20 December 2015
Two Indians were among the three killed when a missile fired from strife-torn Yemen struck Saudi Arabia's south-western border city of Najran.
Source: The Economic Times, Mumbai

24. Assault on Indian workers strains ties with Saudi Arabia
New Delhi, Friday, 25 December 2015
The growing number of assault cases on Indian workers in Saudi Arabia is causing a strain between the bilateral relations between the two countries.   
Source: The Hindu, Chennai; See also: Business Standard, New Delhi

Note: One Crore=10 million

COMPILED BY SUNIL KUMAR

Sunil Kumar 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