POLITICAL ISSUES
IRAN
1. Grievances of Indian community to be taken up with Iran: Swaraj
Tehran, Sunday, 17 April 2016
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj promised Indian community that their problems and grievances would be taken up with the Iranian authorities and complemented their contribution to the Persian Gulf nation.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

2. With energy deals in mind PM Narendra Modi would visit Iran & Qatar, would look to boost ties
New Delhi, Saturday, 23 April 2016
Stepping up further engagement with the energy rich and strategically important Persian Gulf region, Narendra Modi plans separate trips to Iran and Qatar in May and June respectively.
Source: The Economic Times, New Delhi

ISRAEL
3. Israeli minister would be chief guest at water meet
New Delhi, Sunday, 3 April 2016
Israel’s agriculture minister Uri Ariel would be the chief guest at the inaugural event of the India Water Week beginning on 4 April.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

SAUDI ARABIA
4. India has the potential, the manpower that the world wants today: PM Modi
New Delhi, Saturday, 2 April 2016
Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Saudi Arabia for a two-day visit. During this visit, both countries are set to series of pacts to enhance their strategic partnership besides exploring ways to enhance security and counter-terror cooperation.
Source: The Indian Express, New Delhi; See Also:  Indian Express, New Delhi; The Hindu, Chennai; The Hindu, Chennai;  India Today, New Delhi

5. PM Modi conferred Saudi’s highest civilian honour
Delhi, Sunday, 3 April 2016
Indian Prime Minister was presented the King Abdulaziz Sash, highest civilian award by King Salman at the Royal Court before his scheduled departure to New Delhi.
Source: The Indian Express, New Delhi; See also: The Indian Express, New Delhi

UAE
6. Cabinet nod for India-UAE MoU to prevent human trafficking
New Delhi, Wednesday, 13 April 2016
In order to effectively curb the menace of human trafficking to Middle East, India and the UAE would soon sign a MoU for cooperation in preventing and combating the crime.
Source: The Economic Times, New Delhi; See also

ECONOMIC ISSUES
EGYPT
7. India, Egypt should find ways to enhance trade ties
Cairo, Thursday, 28 April 2016
India has invited Egyptian businesses to invest in the country by working out ways to enhance two-way investments and trade.
Source: India Today, New Delhi; See also: The Economic Times, New Delhi

IRAN
8. India offers $20 billion investment in Iran; wants land, cheap gas in return
New Delhi, Sunday, 10 April 2016
India has offered to invest up to US$20 billion in new petrochemicals, fertilizer and liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities in Iran and sought land and cheaper natural gas in return for same.
Source: The Economic Times, New Delhi

9. India to boost investment in Iranian oil and gas sectors
Tehran, Sunday, 17 April 2016
India and Iran have decided to significantly expand their spheres of engagement particularly in boosting Indian investment in joint ventures in oil and gas sector in the Persian Gulf nation.
Source: The Economic Times, New Delhi; See also: DNA, Mumbai; Business Standard, New Delhi

10. Iran can be reliable partner for India’s energy needs: Hassan Rouhani
Tehran, Sunday, 17 April 2016
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani assured External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj that his country can be a reliable partner for India’s energy needs.
Source: The Economic Times, New Delhi

11. Focus on Chabahar port project as Sushma Swaraj meets Iranian leaders
New Delhi, Monday, 18 April 2016
President of Iran Hassan Rouhani and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj discussed Chabahar port that has the potential of connecting the entire region.
Source: The Indian Express, New Delhi

OMAN
12. Ten Indian IT firms to take part in Oman tech exhibition
Dubai, Friday, 8 April 2016
Ten Indian IT (Information Technology) companies would participate in a technology exhibition in Oman to enhance IT trade cooperation between the two countries.
Source: The Economic Times, New Delhi

SAUDI ARABIA
13. Modi addresses Saudi business leaders
Riyadh, Sunday, 3 April 2016
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Saudi IT professionals at the first-of-its-kind all-women TCS training centre.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

14. GST to infra, Saudi business panel has questions for PM Narendra Modi
Riyadh, Monday, 4 April 2016
Members of the Saudi-India business council asked Prime Minister Modi several questions during an open house discussion. After the interaction, he invited Saudi businesses to come and invest in India’s defence, energy, railway, health and agriculture sectors.
Source: The Indian Express, New Delhi; See also: The Hindu, Chennai

UAE
15. India-UAE trade has grown phenomenally: Dharmendra Pradhan
Dubai, Tuesday, 12 April 2016
India-UAE trade has increased phenomenally in the last half century and at US$ 60 billion per annum currently, has made it India’s third largest trading partner during last couple of years, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said.
Source: The Economic Times, New Delhi

16. UAE-based VPS Healthcare to invest Rs 1,000 crore in India in healthcare facilities
Kochi, Monday, 18 April 2016
The UAE-based healthcare conglomerate VPS Healthcare entered the Indian market by acquiring majority stake in Lakeshore Hospital in Kerala, a tertiary level super specialty hospital and pioneer in large-scale health tourism.
Source: The Economic Times, New Delhi

17. UAE’s emirate inks deal to raise arrival of Indian tourists
Dubai, Friday, 29 April 2016
Ras Al Khamiah, one of the seven emirates, signed an agreement with a leading tour operator Cox and Kings for increasing tourism arrivals from India and expanding its presence in the Indian market.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

YEMEN
18. Yemen to explore Bengal to increase bilateral trade with India
Kolkata, Tuesday, 26 April 2016
Tariq Izzaldeen Hassan Al-Mouthen, first secretary of the Yemen embassy to India said that Yemen is exploring strengths of West Bengal as a potential partner to increase trade between the two countries.
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi

CULTURAL ISSUES
EGYPT   
19. ‘India by the Nile’ festival to begin from 23 April in Egypt
Cairo, Friday, 1 April 2016
India would organize the fourth edition of the mega cultural festival ‘India by the Nile’ in Egypt to showcase diversity of the country’s culture, arts, music, films and cuisine for building enduring partnerships between the two civilizations.
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi

MISCELLANEOUS ISSUES
OMAN
20. Four members of Indian family killed in accident in Oman
Dubai, Tuesday, 3 April 2016
Four members of an Indian family from Maharashtra were killed and a boy was injured in a road accident in Oman.
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi

SAUDI ARABIA
21. Pakistan or Iran in anti-terror statement? India, Saudi Arabia interpret their own
Riyadh, Monday, 4 April 2016
In a joint statement, India and Saudi Arabia came out strongly against terrorism and called on countries to reject the use of terrorism against others, dismantle terrorism infrastructure and cut off any kind of support and financing to terrorists operating against others.
Source: The Indian Express, New Delhi

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