International Relations
Bilateral ties, multilateral forums, treaties and India's foreign policy
Jaishankar speaks to Israeli counterpart Gideon Sa'ar over ‘different aspects’ of West Asia crisis
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar held a telephonic conversation with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar on April 14, 2026, covering "different aspe...
Hopes rise for renewed talks as U.S. military says Iran blockade is in force
Regional officials confirmed that the US and Iran gave an "in principle agreement" to extend the two-week ceasefire, due to expire April 22, 2026, to allow f...
Saudi Arabia to lend another $3 bn to Pakistan to boost forex reserves, days after $5 bn pledge
Saudi Arabia announced an additional $3 billion deposit/loan to Pakistan on April 15, 2026, days after pledging a separate $5 billion — bringing total Saudi ...
Xi Jinping calls China-Russia ties 'precious' in current international context
Chinese President Xi Jinping met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on April 15, 2026. Lavrov arrived in China...
North Korea is boosting nuclear weapons capacity: IAEA chief
IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi warned at a press conference that North Korea is "sharply boosting" its nuclear weapons production capacity, with signs i...
Iran ups threats over naval blockade, but still talking to U.S.
Iran's military threatened to shut down Red Sea trade unless the United States lifted its naval blockade of Iranian ports, escalating the 2026 US-Iran milita...
Gems and jewellery exports fall to five-year low on U.S. tariffs
India's gems and jewellery exports fell to a five-year low as shipments to the United States plunged 45% year-on-year to USD 5.09 billion, according to data ...
China moves to block entrance to disputed South China Sea shoal, images show
China deployed a 352-meter (approximately 1,150-foot) floating barrier at the entrance to Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on April 10–11, 2026, acco...
Indian official team to visit Washington next week for trade talks
An Indian negotiating delegation is travelling to Washington for three-day trade talks from April 20-22, 2026, to resume discussions on an interim bilateral ...
India-UK trade agreement may come into force next month: Commerce Secy
India's Commerce Secretary confirmed that the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is expected to come into operation "sometime in May"...
India’s trade deficit narrows to $20.67 billion in March on West Asia risks
India's merchandise trade deficit narrowed to $20.67 billion in March 2026, compared to $27.1 billion in March 2025 — a significant contraction, but for reas...
Crude unlikely to return to pre-war levels soon; India's import bill may rise $70bn annually: Report
Brokerage Prabhudas Lilladher estimates India's annual oil import bill could surge by more than $70 billion due to persistently elevated crude prices stemmin...
Geopolitical tensions cripple India-Middle East trade in March
India's exports to Middle East fell over 50% in March 2026, with gems and jewellery exports to UAE down approximately 80%, following the temporary closure of...
India’s exports drop 7.44 pc to USD 38.92 billion in Mar amid disruptions due to West Asia crisis
India's merchandise exports contracted 7.44% year-on-year to USD 38.92 billion in March 2026, down from USD 42.05 billion in March 2025, as the West Asia con...
India achieves record exports of USD 860 billion in 2025-26: Piyush Goyal
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal announced that India achieved a record $860 billion in total exports (merchandise + services) in FY 2025-26, surp...
China surpasses US as India's largest trading partner in FY26; trade gap swells to USD 112.16 bn
China has surpassed the United States to become India's largest trading partner in FY2025-26, with bilateral trade reaching USD 151.1 billion for the full fi...
India unveils a power-packed FTA calendar: UK, Oman, New Zealand deals next
India is set to operationalise multiple major free trade agreements in 2026, marking one of the most active periods in the country's trade diplomacy history....
Implementation of Section 51A of UAPA, 1967: Updates to UNSC’s 1988 (2011) Taliban Sanctions List: Amendment of 04 Entries
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued a notification (RBI/2026-27/12) on April 15, 2026, directing all regulated financial entities to implement amendments ...
Aatmanirbhar 2.0 in works to cushion India against supply chain, energy Pain
The government is working on a second phase of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) initiative — informally called Aatmanirbhar 2.0 — specifically de...
Trump’s tariff rates could be restored by July, says US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the tariff rates introduced by the Trump administration could be restored to their earlier levels by early Ju...