MUST-READS

• Air India expansion stirs tension over airline flying rights

  Tensions over plans to transform Air India into a global airline with hundreds of new jets rippled across the aviation sector on Tuesday as foreign carriers clamoured for more access to the world's fastest-growing economy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government faces growing demands to ease a near-freeze on capacity that can be deployed on many routes to and from India, now that India's flag carrier has been sold to the cash-rich Tata conglomerate.

• US report lists ‘significant human rights’ abuses in India

  The findings come nearly a year after Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. was monitoring what he described as a rise in human rights abuses in India by some government, police and prison officials, in a rare direct rebuke by Washington of the Asian nation's rights record.

• India using SWIFT global payment system to settle Russia dollar trade – source

  Indian companies are using the SWIFT global payment system to settle dollar payments with Russia, a top trade official said on Wednesday, even though many Russian banks are blocked from the network due to Western sanctions. The West blocked access to SWIFT for several Russian banks, including Sberbank and VTB, soon after Moscow invaded Ukraine in February last year to target Russian trade, making it harder for Russian companies to do business. SWIFT underpins financial transactions globally.

• What to Expect From India’s G-20 Presidency 

  India inherited the Group of Twenty (G-20) presidency from Indonesia on December 1, 2022 and will convene the 18th G-20 summit on September 9–10, 2023, in New Delhi. Coincidentally, India also assumes the presidency of the U.N. Security Council and will chair the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the world’s largest regional forum, until September 2023.

• Saudi Envoy says relationship with India will be upgraded to ‘highest level’

  Underlining the strong relationship between the Kingdom and India Saleh Eid Al Husseini Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to India said that he wants to bring this relationship to the highest level Speaking on the celebrations of the Kingdom s founding day here the envoy said he was happy to have strong and friendly relationship between the two countries

• GCC to appoint chief negotiator next month for trade talks with India – report

  The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are set to appoint a chief negotiator next month, which will help fasten the pace of talks on striking a free trade agreement (FTA) with India, the Indian financial daily Mint reported, citing informed sources. The trade talks’ resumption was agreed upon in November 2022 during a meeting between India’s Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and GCC Secretary General Nayef Falah M. Al-Hajraf.

• How much money did India save in a year by buying Russian fuel?

  The West’s sanctions on Russia’s oil trade have benefited India hugely. In less than a year, the government has saved an estimated $3.6 billion by ramping up Russian oil imports.

• Blinken says India, South Africa are on slow trajectory away from alignment with Russia

  "India for decades had Russia at the core of providing military equipment to it and its defenses, but what we’ve seen over the last few years is a trajectory away from relying on Russia and moving into partnership with us and other countries," Blinken said. Blinken also added that he understood the reasons for South Africa's ties with Russia while acknowledging regret for Washington's "sympathetic" approach to the apartheid-era regime in South Africa.

• India’s Growing Presence in the Middle East

  Around 8.9 million Indians reside in the Gulf, with around 3.4 million in the United Arab Emirates and 2.5 million in Saudi Arabia. Fifty percent of India’s over $80 billion in remittances annually come from the Gulf countries. Trade and investment between India and Middle Eastern countries have grown exponentially over the last decade.

• India Ups Its Game in the Middle East

  India has, since independence, engaged actively with the Middle East. The quality of that engagement has changed in recent years, reflecting India’s desire to be a more assertive global power in a multipolar world. India’s quick large-scale aid for Turkey and Syria is part of its desire to be seen as the country of first response, providing disaster relief and humanitarian assistance in its wider neighborhood.

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