POLITICAL ISSUES
BAHRAIN
1. India, Bahrain agree on action to curb human trafficking, help victims
Mumbai, Thursday, 10 March 2016
An official statement said that India and Bahrain have agreed to take steps to curb human trafficking and cooperate on the rescue and repatriation of victims. 
Source: Reuters, UK; See also: The Economic Times, Mumbai

EGYPT
2. India keen to boost economic cooperation with Egypt: Envoy
Cairo, Sunday, 6 March 2016
Ambassador to Egypt Sanjay Bhattacharyya said that India is keen on ramping up economic cooperation with Egypt by focusing on trade and investment and he also underlined the need for transparency and predictability to woo more Indian businesses to Egypt.
Source: The Economic Times, Mumbai

ISRAEL
3. Indian firm to partner Israel for anti-tank missiles
New Delhi, Friday, 4 March 2016
Rafael of Israel and India’s Kalyani group are setting up a joint venture (JV), Kalyani Rafael Advanced Systems, to build weapon systems in India. It would start with the production of Spike Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) which the Indian Army is in the process of procuring.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

QATAR
4. India, Qatar ink MoU on transfer or prisoners, five other pacts
New Delhi, Friday, 25 March 2016
India and Qatar signed six agreements, including one on transfer of sentenced prisoners, as the two countries sought to inject a fresh momentum in their bilateral ties.
Source: The Tribune, Chandigarh

SAUDI ARABIA
5. Saudi Arabia wants to elevate ties with India during PM Narendra Modi's visit
New Delhi, Tuesday, 8 March 2016
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir said that the kingdom wishes to elevate its ties with India during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Riyadh in April.
Source: The Economic Times, Mumbai

6. India, Saudi Arabia to hold bilateral talks today
New Delhi, Tuesday, 8 March 2016
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj held talks with her Saudi Arabian counterpart Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir in New Delhi during which they discussed bilateral issues besides regional and global issues of mutual interests.
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi

7. India warns women workers in Saudi against going on strike
Riyadh, Wednesday, 23 March 2016
The Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia issued a statement warning its nationals against attempts by ‘self-styled’ social workers to instigate Indian women workers to go on a strike.
Source: The Economic Times, Mumbai

ECONOMIC ISSUES
IRAN
8. Indian tea workers urge Iran to rework valuation rates of tea entering their country
Kolkata, Friday, 18 March 2016
Indian tea producers have urged Iran to rework the valuation rates of tea entering the country, as the current system is hurting them as it does not differentiate between premium and other teas. Iran has a flat rate of US$5 per kg for valuing all types of teas from India, on which Iranian buyers have to pay custom duty.
Source: The Economics Times, Mumbai

9. India hopes to sign Farzad B gas field deal with Iran next month
New Delhi, Tuesday, 22 March 2016
Indian oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan would push for state-run firms to win development rights for the vast Farzad B gas field in Iran during a visit.
Source: The Economic Times, Mumbai

KUWAIT
10. Kuwait imposes ban on import of Indian poultry products
New Delhi, Tuesday, 22 March 2016
Kuwait has banned imports of poultry products from India in the wake of incidents of bird flu virus in some states.
Source: The Economic Times, Mumbai

OMAN
11. Oman records 17% rise in Indian tourist arrivals in 2015
Mumbai, Monday, 14 March 2016
Oman received 17 per cent more Indian tourists in 2015 than in 2014 and is expanding its basket of holiday-related activities to attract more travellers from India.
Source: The Economic Times, Mumbai

12. Jindal Steel and Power Limited commissions 1.4 MTPA Rebar Mill in Sohar, Oman
Kolkata, Tuesday, 22 March 2016
Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL) have commissioned a 1.4 million ton per annum (mtpa) rebar mill at Sohar, Oman which came up with an investment of US$190million and is the largest in the Gulf and African region.
Source: The Economic Times, Mumbai

QATAR
13. Treated ‘unfairly’ in India; interested in IndiGo stake: Qatar Airways
Hyderabad, Wednesday, 16 March 2016
Alleging that Indian authorities treated it unfairly vis-à-vis other Gulf carriers, Qatar Airways said it continues to be interested in buying stake in IndiGo despite losing out on an opportunity to participate in the budget carrier’s IPO last year.
Source: The Economic Times, Mumbai

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