Iran's FM to arrive in India today on 3-day visit amid tension with US

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif will arrive in India on Tuesday on a three-day visit amid spiralling tension between the Middle Eastern nation and the US. Soleimani's killing has led to a dramatic escalation of tension between Tehran and Washington which was already strained after the US withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the "Iran nuclear deal," in 2018.

The foreign minister will also pay a courtesy call to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, January 15. Javad Zarif is slated to address the Raisina Dialogue - an annual conference where dignitaries from more than 100 countries across the world will share their views on geopolitics and geoeconomics, climate change, counter-terrorism and other agendas of the next decade.

The visiting dignitary will further deliberate on regional issues with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar over breakfast on Thursday following which he will emplane for Mumbai to interact with a group of business leaders. Furthermore, Zarif will move forward to Mumbai where he is scheduled to call on Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. He will conclude his India visit on Friday, according to an official statement. India has strategic interests in the Gulf region which is a key source of its energy security. 

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Foreign Ministers from 13 countries to attend Raisina Dialogue

Foreign ministers from 13 countries, including Russia, Iran and Australia, will attend the fifth edition of the geo-political conference, 'Raisina Dialogue'. The three-day event, co-hosted by the Ministry of External Affairs and the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), will also witness the participation of many deputy foreign ministers, former prime ministers, former presidents, national security advisors, military chiefs and other high-level policy-makers, scholars and officials, a statement by the ORF said. Over 180 delegates from 105 countries are taking part in this edition, themed '21@20: Navigating the Alpha Century'. 

In all, the conference will see 116 speakers. Besides, Externally Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, the other foreign ministers participating in this year's conference are from Russia, Iran, Australia, Maldives, South Africa, Latvia, Uzbekistan, Estonia, Denmark, Hungary, Rwanda and Tanzania. Former Afghan president Hamid Karzai and prime ministers of Sweden, Republic of Korea, Canada, Denmark, New Zealand and Bhutan are also participating in the conference.

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(With Agency Inputs)