India moves to safeguard energy links as Middle East tensions ease

Amid a two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran in the Middle East, India has dispatched two senior ministers to Gulf countries to strengthen its energy security, India’s foreign ministry said.

Gulf nations remain India’s largest source of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), underscoring the strategic importance of the visits, Xinhua reports.

Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri visited Qatar on April 9-10, while External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is scheduled to travel to the United Arab Emirates on April 11, foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said during a press briefing.

During Puri’s visit, Qatar’s energy minister reaffirmed the country’s commitment to remain a reliable energy supplier and expressed readiness to deepen cooperation with India, Jaiswal noted.

“Both ministers also welcomed the two-week ceasefire agreed on April 8, and stressed the importance of an early end to disruption in global energy supplies and restoration of normalcy. In this context, they emphasized the need for unimpeded freedom of navigation and the global flow of commerce to maintain global supply chains,” a separate statement from India’s petroleum and natural gas ministry said.

Jaishankar is expected to meet UAE leaders to review bilateral cooperation and further strengthen the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries, the ministry added.

By Vafa Guliyeva