India's Gulf outreach aimed at energy security, diaspora welfare: MEA amid West Asia tensions

New Delhi [India], April 21 : Amid escalating concern in West Asia as the deadline for the ceasefire between the US and Iran looms, India has intensified engagement with Gulf countries focusing on energy security, welfare of the Indian diaspora, and other issues of mutual interest, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Tuesday.

Addressing a media briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the outreach has been undertaken under the direction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with multiple high-level visits to key Gulf nations in recent days.

He noted that the National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval visited Saudi Arabia, the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar travelled to the United Arab Emirates, and the Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri visited Qatar.

Earlier on Sunday, NSA Doval paid an official visit to Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh, where he held high-level meetings with senior Saudi leadership focusing on bilateral relations, energy cooperation and regional developments, as per the Embassy of India in Riyadh.

Last week, EAM Jaishankar shared glimpses of his engagements with the top leadership of the United Arab Emirates, underlining the strength of bilateral ties between the two nations.

In a post on X, Jaishankar said, "Sharing some moments of my call on President HH Mohamed Bin Zayed of the UAE and meeting with HH Hamdan Mohammed."

Jaishankar was on a four-day visit to Abu Dhabi as part of his two-nation diplomatic mission to Mauritius and the UAE.

Additionally, Jaiswal stated that the Union Commerce and Industry Minister, Piyush Goyal, also held several engagements with counterparts across the Gulf region.

"India continues to closely monitor developments in West Asia and has intensified its outreach to countries in the Gulf region under the direction of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi," Jaiswal said.

"These coordinated efforts are aimed at addressing key shared concerns between India and Gulf nations, including energy security, welfare of the Indian diaspora, and other issues of mutual interest," he added.

On the ongoing situation in the region, the MEA spokesperson stated that India is closely monitoring developments and remains in touch with authorities in Iran to ensure the safe passage of Indian ships through the strategically important Strait of Hormuz.

"We continue to be in touch with Iranian authorities for the safe passage of our ships through the Strait of Hormuz, as we also have a number of Indian nationals who are in Iran. We are in touch with Iranian authorities for their well-being as well," he said.

This came in response to the recent incident of shooting involving two Indian-flagged ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday.

India, following this, called Iran's Ambassador Mohammad Fathali and conveyed "deep concern" over the incident.

The Ministry of External Affairs, in a statement, stated that Iran's Ambassador was called in for a meeting with Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri this evening.

The Foreign Secretary urged the Ambassador to convey India's views and resume the process of facilitating India-bound ships across the Strait.

Jaiswal, during the briefing, further stated that India is also engaging with Iranian authorities regarding the well-being of Indian nationals residing there.

Responding to queries on civil aviation matters, the MEA spokesperson said that India is in contact with UAE authorities on aviation-related and other civilian issues between the two countries.

"We are in touch with the UAE authorities on this particular matter as also other civilian matters that the two countries are engaged with or in," the MEA spokesperson said.

On casualties in the West Asia conflict, Jaiswal confirmed that eight Indian nationals have lost their lives so far, while one Indian national remains missing.

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