India signs agreement with UAE to help Indians evacuate through Fujairah port

NEW DELHI: India and the United Arab Emirates are working on a deal that will facilitate the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of Indian workers through Fujairah port, with the agreement likely to be signed during a stopover in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s itinerary, marking yet another important link in an already strong bilateral relationship.The Prime Minister will depart for Europe on May 15, stopping in Fujairah before heading to the Netherlands before visiting Sweden, Norway and Italy.The unprecedented treaty comes amid devastation from conflict in West Asia that has left thousands stranded in the Gulf as flights were disrupted. While life is slowly returning to normal, the agreement could be useful in the future because Fujairah lies west of the Strait of Hormuz, which has become a major chokepoint in the war.According to government calculations, hundreds of thousands of Indians working in the UAE could be evacuated by boat if there were problems with air traffic. West Asia is home to nearly 10 million Indian workers, of which nearly 4.3 million are in the UAE.Amid the current conflict, Fujairah may have been the starting point for the proposed India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, but with access to Dubai Port cut off, Fujairah has also emerged as an alternative for shipping goods to the UAE. Khor Fakkar is another port used for transporting goods which are then transported by road. Iran is also targeting Fujairah for exactly the same reasons. The Prime Minister’s visit marks India’s support for the UAE, which is under attack from Iran.Meanwhile, the UAE has withdrawn from the powerful oil cartel OPEC amid disagreements with Saudi Arabia. Given India’s close ties with the UAE in recent years, experts expect the country to be a major beneficiary, especially as countries such as Saudi Arabia charge an Asian premium for the crude they sell.

Strait talks: Iran replies to US peace plan

Iran has submitted its response to the latest U.S. proposal to end ten weeks of war, as a series of incidents continue to threaten an uneasy ceasefire. The state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported the latest response without providing any further details, and Tehran has not publicly said it will accept Trump’s plan. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif confirmed that Iran had conveyed its response to the US proposal.Trump has proposed allowing Iran to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, and Washington will end its blockade of Iranian ports next month. The two countries still need to negotiate on Iran’s nuclear program later.Trump: It will take US two weeks to hit all targets in IranUS President Donald Trump said in an interview broadcast on Sunday that it would take just two weeks to strike “every target” in Iran, adding that the Islamic republic had been “militarily defeated”. In an interview with independent journalist Sharil Atkisson recorded last week, he also called NATO a “paper tiger” and accused Washington’s allies of failing to help fight Tehran.Trump on Sunday accused Iran of “playing games” and mocking the United States for decades, but said it would soon stop.Iran warns France and UK to ‘react immediately’ Iran warned Britain and France on Sunday that its armed forces would respond “decisively and immediately” to any warships heading to the Strait of Hormuz after Paris and London dispatched warships to the region. “We remind them that only Iran can establish security in this strait, both in time of war and in time of peace,” Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said in a post on X.UAE and Kuwait Report intercept droneA drone strike on Sunday briefly set fire to a cargo ship near Qatar in the Persian Gulf, the latest attack on shipping despite a ceasefire that has been in place since April 8. The United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, which have been hit by Iranian attacks over the past two months, said on Sunday they had intercepted enemy drones.