Indian Foreign Minister Subramanyam Jaishankar met with the UAE’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed in Abu Dhabi to discuss the implications of the Middle East conflict.

“Conveyed our deep appreciation for ensuring the well-being of the Indian community in the UAE. Confident that our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership will advance further,” Jaishankar said in a post on social media, along with pictures of the two leaders.

Millions of Indians work and live in the UAE, some of whom were repatriated to India amid Iranian drone and missile attacks on other nations in the Gulf.

The UAE is India’s third-largest trading partner after the US and China. Moreover, it is the second-largest export destination for Indian goods after the US.

India’s government has made several temporary concessions for India’s export sector over the last month to cushion the impact of higher transport costs and disrupted shipping routes.

Jaishankar’s visit to the UAE came soon after the US and Iran reached a temporary ceasefire. India’s petroleum minister Hardeep Singh Puri was in Qatar a few days ago, also to discuss uninterrupted trade.

LPG tanker crosses Strait of Hormuz

Meanwhile, Indian-flagged vessel Jag Vikram crossed the Strait of Hormuz and ‘successfully sailed out of the Gulf region’, on Saturday, officials have said.

The liquified petroleum gas (LPG)-laden ship is expected to reach India on April 15, said India’s ports minister, Sarbananda Sonowal, in a shipping update on social media.

As per Indian media reports, Jag Vikram is the first Indian-flagged vessel to cross the strategic chokepoint since the US and Iran agreed to a temporary ceasefire this week.

India, which imports about 60% of its LPG needs, has been facing a shortage of cooking gas since the US and Israel began their war with Iran.

That’s because the Islamic Republic effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz which is a transit point for one-fifth of the world’s crude oil. More importantly, about 80% of the crude and gas passing the strait is destined for Asian markets as per the International Energy Agency.

The Indian Express reported that Jag Vikram had been waiting to cross the Strait of Hormuz for over a week now.

DW