Puri, Jaishankar lead India’s Gulf outreach amid tensions
In a calibrated push to secure energy supplies amid continuing tensions in West Asia, India has dispatched two senior ministers to key Gulf nations days after a fragile ceasefire took hold in the region.
Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri is in Qatar for two days, while External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is scheduled to travel to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on April 11 and April 12. The visits underscore New Delhi’s urgency in safeguarding energy and strategic interests.
Puri’s visit is the first by an Indian minister to the Gulf since hostilities broke out between the United States-Israel alliance and Iran on February 28.
Although a two-week ceasefire has since reduced immediate risks, the situation remains volatile.
Official details of Puri’s engagements have not been disclosed, but discussions are expected to centre on crude oil and gas supplies. The Government said further information will be released after the visit concludes.
Jaishankar’s upcoming trip to the UAE signals parallel diplomatic outreach, aimed at reinforcing ties with key regional partners at a time of heightened geopolitical uncertainty.
Amid these developments, India’s energy lifelines have shown resilience. The India-flagged LPG carrier Green Asha has safely reached Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority in Navi Mumbai with 15,400 tonnes of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG). The vessel crossed the Strait of Hormuz on April 5 at the height of regional tensions. Another LPG tanker, Green Sanvi, which transited the Strait on April 6, is expected to arrive in India shortly.
Meanwhile, India has quietly granted case-by-case waivers to speed up energy imports from Iran amid a severe LPG shortage. India is the world’s second largest importer of LPG and is in the middle of its worst gas crisis in decades.
Indian authorities have made two specific exceptions for Iranian cargoes. LPG tanker Aurora (30 years old) was allowed to dock at Mangalore port in Karnataka, even though India normally requires older vessels (over 20 years) to have special seaworthiness certification from recognised classification societies. Crude oil tanker Jaya has been given permission to unload despite being under US sanctions. India normally bars sanctioned vessels from its ports.
Iran has increasingly used an older shadow fleet of tankers to bypass Western sanctions, which is why such vessels are involved. According to sources in the Government, these waivers are strictly on a case-by-case basis and only for ships that meet basic safety standards.
