External Affairs Ministry today said India is deeply concerned about the current situation in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Briefing media in New Delhi this afternoon, Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, it is an important shipping lane not just for India, but also for the world. He said, New Delhi has its own interests there, which are being impacted. He added that Indian Navy is patrolling the area and is trying to secure the sea lanes so that economic interests are not impacted. Commercial ships using the crucial Red Sea shipping route have faced attacks over the past weeks from Yemen-based Houthis rebels.
On Qatar court commuting death sentence to eight Indians, the spokesperson said Indian Ambassador along with the embassy officials, met the eight detained. He added that the legal team is looking into the appeal aspect and there is a period of 60 days within which they have to file this appeal. He said that now the matter will go to the court of cassation.
Replying to a question on Maldives, Mr Jaiswal said India-Maldives High Level Core Group held discussions earlier this month on finding mutually workable solutions. He added that this is an ongoing discussion, and things will go forward in the next meeting of the core group.