POLITICAL ISSUES
JORDAN
1. India announces US$500,000 assistance to Jordan
New Delhi, Monday, 7 September 2015
India announced an assistance of US$ 500,000 to Jordan to meet the enormous impact of Syrian refugee crisis on the Jordanian economy.
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi; See also: The New Indian Express, Chennai

OMAN
3. Indian Navy ships in Oman to strengthen bilateral ties
New Delhi, Sunday, 20 September 2015
Indian navy ships Deepak, INS Delhi, INS Tabar and INS Trishul reached Muscat in Oman as a part of its deployment in the Gulf to enhance bilateral ties with other national navies in the Gulf.
Source: The Statesman, Kolkata ; See also: Times of Oman, Muscat; The New Indian Express, Chennai

QATAR
4. Indian Warship visit to Qatar to strengthen naval ties
New Delhi, Monday, 14 September 2015
Indian navy ships INS Tabar and INS Trishul, which are on deployment to the Gulf to strengthen bilateral ties, visited Qatar.
Source: The Economics Times, New Delhi

SAUDI ARABIA
5. Indian Warships in Saudi Arabia on Bilateral Visit
New Delhi, Sunday, 11 September 2015
Indian warships INS Delhi and INS Trishul entered Al-Jubail Port in Saudi Arabia as part of a month-long deployment in the Gulf.
Source: The New Indian Express, Chennai

6. India-Saudi ties growing stronger: Envoy
New Delhi, Tuesday, 29 September 2015
On National Day of Saudi Arabia, Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to India Saud bin Mohammed Al-Sati said that the ties between the two have never been better and are getting stronger by the day.
Source: The Economic Times, New Delhi

UAE
7. Boost for bilateral ties as UAE foreign minister visits India
Abu Dhabi, Tuesday, 1 September 2015
The UAE’s Foreign Minister Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan would visit India for two days starting from 2 September.
Source: Gulf News Investment, Dubai

Economic Issues
ISRAEL
8. India turns to Israel for armed drones as Pakistan, China build fleets
New Delhi, Tuesday, 22 September 2015
The Indian government approved the air force’s request to acquire 10 Heron TP drones from Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).The plan to purchase Herons in a deal estimated at US$ 400 million would open the option of covert cross-border strikes.
Source: Reuters, London

SAUDI ARABIA
9. Saudi Arabia says role of Indian expats in economy commendable
Jeddah, Sunday, 20 September 2015
A senior Saudi government official said that Saudi Arabia highly values the contributions of 2.73 million Indian expatriates working in the Kingdom.
Source: Gulf News, Dubai

UAE
10. UAE reiterates commitment to invest more in India
New Delhi, Wednesday, 3 September 2015
Reem Ibrahim Al Hashimi, Minister of State of UAE said that  the UAE is keen to invest in India, especially in opportunities arising out of various initiatives announced by the government such as Make in India and Digital India.
Source: The Hindu Business Line, Chennai

11. India, UAE agree to enhance cooperation, increase trade by 60 per cent
New Delhi, Wednesday, 3 September 2015
India and the UAE agreed to accelerate their cooperation in all areas of bilateral relations and to enhance their trade by 60 per cent over the next five years.
Source: NDTV, New Delhi

MISCELLANEOUS ISSUES
SAUDI ARABIA
12. Accused of rape, Saudi diplomat gets away – to Saudi Arabia
New Delhi, Thursday, 17 September 2015
MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup said that after being accused of raping two women from Nepal, Saudi Embassy’s First Secretary Majed Hassan Ashoor has “left India” as he was recalled to Saudi Arabia.
Source: The Indian Express, Mumbai; See also: The Times of India, New Delhi; The Hindustan Times, New Delhi

13. One Indian killed, two injured in Yemeni attack in Saudi Arabia
New Delhi, Saturday, 19 September 2015
One Indian was killed and two injured during the retaliatory attack on Saudi Arabia by the Yemenis.
Source:  The Indian Express, Mumbai

YEMEN
14. India Trying to Evacuate Sailors From Yemen: Gujarat CM
Ahmadabad, Wednesday, 16 September 2015
Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel while speaking to External Affair Minister Sushma Swaraj said that the government is working to evacuate sailors from Yemen.
Source: The New Indian Express, Chennai

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