POLITICAL ISSUES
BAHRAIN
1. Man from Bahrain held at airport
Mangalore, Wednesday, 12 October 2016
The Mangaluru city police arrested one more person in connection with the derogatory Facebook post demeaning Hindu goddess Sri Durga Permeswari of Kateel and other gods.
Source: The Times of India, Mumbai

2. Bahrain-India Week to be held in December
New Delhi, Saturday, 15 October 2016
A Bahrain-India Week (BIW 2016) would be held in Bahrain in December 2016 and would promote trade relations between the two countries. Starting from December 1, it was being organized by India’s Ministry of External Affairs and Bahrain’s Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism.
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi

3. Rajnath Singh to flag Pak-sponsored terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir with Bahrain
New Delhi, Saturday, 22 October 2016
Pakistan-sponsored cross border terrorism would be highlighted before the top leadership of Bahrain by Home Minister Rajnath Singh during his three-day visit to the Gulf kingdom where both sides would discuss on how to enhance anti-terror cooperation.
Source: The Economic Times, Mumbai

4. Rajnath Singh leaves for Bahrain; to raise Pakistan sponsored terror in India
New Delhi, Sunday, 23 October 2016
Home Minister Rajnath Singh would raise the issue of Pakistan’s continuous support to cross border terrorism with the top leadership of Bahrain. He would seek their cooperation in tackling international terrorism during his three-day visit to the Gulf country.
Source: The Economic Times, Mumbai; See Also: The Indian Express, New Delhi

5. India, Bahrain working to strengthen counter-terrorism ties: Rajnath
New Delhi, Sunday, 23 October 2016
Union Home Minister said that India and Bahrain are working together to strengthen security and counter-terrorism cooperation between the two countries.
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi

6. Shri Rajnath Singh hold talks with his Bahrain counterpart
New Delhi, Monday, 24 October 2016
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has said that India and Bahrain are vulnerable to the scourge of terrorism. He said this during his bilateral meeting with Interior Minister of Bahrain Lt. General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa in capital Manama.
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi

7. Rajnath Singh raises Pakistan's support to terrorism with Bahrain leaders
Manama, Monday, 24 October 2016
India told Bahrain’s top leadership that Pakistan’s use of terrorism as an instrument of state policy was a matter of concern and the incitement from across the border was the main reason behind the current unrest in Jammu and Kashmir.
Source: The Economic Times, Mumbai

8. India, Bahrain assert terrorist in one country cannot be glorified by another
New Delhi, Tuesday, 25 October 2016
In a clear reference to Pakistan, India and Bahrain have said that a terrorist in one country cannot be glorified as a freedom fighter by another. The two nations also called upon all states to reject the use of terrorism against other countries and interfering in a country’s internal affairs.
Source: The Economic Times, Mumbai; See Also: Business Standard, New Delhi; Times of India, New Delhi

EGYPT
9. Indian Chair at Cairo varsity would benefit India, Egypt: Prof
New Delhi, Sunday, 16 October 2016
An Indian professor has said that the first Indian Chair in the Arab world at a top Egyptian university. It would benefit both countries as it facilitates exchange of top academics. The MoU to establish the Indian Chair was signed between Cairo’s Ain Shams University and Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) in March and was operationalized last month.
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi

OMAN
10. Despite freeze, Indian, Pak. officials attend Oman meet
New Delhi, Friday, 28 October 2016
At a time when all official meetings between India and Pakistan are cancelled, senior MEA and R&AW officials met their counterparts in the Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and ISI at a conference in Oman, organized by the U.S. Military National Defence University and British think-tank International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

PALESTINE
11. Akbar to visit Palestine next month
New Delhi, Thursday, 13 October 2016
Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar would visit to Palestine next month during which both sides are expected to explore ways to further deepen ties besides reviewing the situation in the Middle East.
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi

QATAR
12. Cabinet apprised of the MoU between India and Qatar on cooperation in the field of Youth and Sports
New Delhi, Thursday, 13 October 2016
The Union Cabinet has been apprised of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed on 7 April, 1999. The First Executive Programme for MOU with Qatar on bilateral cooperation in the field of Youth and Sports was signed on 5 June 2016.
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi

SAUDI ARABIA
13. Jobless Indians in Saudi Arabia to start returning: MEA
New Delhi, Thursday, 20 October 2016
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said that retrenched Indian workers of Saudi Arabia’s Saad group would start coming back to India.
Source: The Economic Times, Mumbai

SYRIA
14. Kashmir is an internal issue of India: Syrian Ambassador
New Delhi, Sunday, 30 October 2016
Syrian Ambassador to India Dr Riad Kemal Abbas told the Indian media that Kashmir issue was in internal affairs of India.
Source: The New Indian Express, Chennai

UAE
15. UAE supports Indian action against terrorists post Uri attacks
New Delhi, Monday, 3 October 2016
Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan accepted India’s invitation to be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations in 2017 and observed that the Emirate would support Delhi’s action against perpetrators of Uri strikes.
Source: The Economic Times, Mumbai

16. India, UAE set to kick off political and business talks
New Delhi, Monday, 10 October 2016
India and the UAE would launch a political and economic dialogue later this month in Dubai as a prelude to Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s presence as the chief guest for next year’s Republic Day celebrations.
Source: The Economic Times, Mumbai

17. Court issues Letters Rogatory to UAE authorities in case against Lalit Modi
Mumbai, Saturday, 15 October 2016
A court issued Letters Rogatory to UAE authorities, seeking some information and evidence regarding a case against former Indian Premier League commissioner Lalit Modi.
Source: The Economic Times, Mumbai

18. Navdeep Suri to be India's new envoy to UAE
New Delhi, Monday, 17 October 2016
Senior diplomat Navdeep Singh Suri was appointed Ambassador to the UAE, a strategically important country which is major supplier of oil to India.
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi

19. Tourism, education key to India-UAE relations: Governor
New Delhi, Thursday, 20 October 2016
Governor P. Sathasivam was speaking after inaugurating the office of the Consulate General of UAE at Manacaud. A larger proportion of skilled workforce from Kerala is now securing employment in the Gulf countries compared to the situation a few decades back, when the majority were unskilled workers.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai

ECONOMIC ISSUES
BAHRAIN
20. Bahrain eyes investments from India
New Delhi, Friday, 7 October 2016
A delegation of Bahrain Economic Development Board (BEDB) was in India seeking investments for the oil-rich kingdom in deferent sectors such as tourism, start-ups, financial services, information technology and manufacturing.
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi

IRAN
21. India receives its first oil parcel from Iran
New Delhi, Wednesday, 12 October 2016
India has received the first consignment of Iranian oil to partly fill its strategic storage in southern India at Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) that imported large crude carrier (VLCC).
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi

UAE
22. UAE-India economic forum to be held this month in Dubai
Dubai, Sunday, 9 October 2016
The second edition of the annual UAE-India Economic Forum (UIEF) to explore investment opportunities in sectors like infrastructure, ports, railways and tourism in India would be held Dubai this month.
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi

23. India eyes investment opportunities at UAE-India economic forum
New Delhi, Tuesday, 18 October 2016
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs M.J Akbar on Tuesday left for Abu Dhabi to attend the second edition of the annual UAE-India Economic Forum (UIEF) aimed to explore investment opportunities in sectors like infrastructure, ports, Railways and tourism in India.
Source: Business Standard, 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