Tag: embassies

Saudi Arabia, Iran to reopen embassies ‘within days’

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Beirut: Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said that Saudi Arabia and Iran will reopen their embassies in both countries within days.
This comes after the two countries agreed to restore relations in March after a series of events in 2016 led to the severing of diplomatic relations.
Amir-Abdollahian made the statement during a press conference in the Lebanese capital of Beirut.

Abdollahian added that his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, would accept his invitation to visit Tehran pointing out that he had received a similar invitation to visit the Kingdom.
He indicated that the date of the two visits would be agreed upon “through diplomatic channels.”
Earlier this April, the Saudi newspaper “Okaz” revealed the Iranian embassy in Riyadh opened its doors for the first time in seven years.
On April 6 in Beijing, the foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia signed a joint statement to begin arrangements to reopen embassies and consulates, expand bilateral relations and cooperation, and resume flights.
These steps come after Saudi Arabia and Iran announced on March 10 the resumption of diplomatic relations between the two countries, and the reopening of their embassies, following Chinese mediation, after seven years of tensions.

The relationship began to deteriorate in 2015 after Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) intervened in the Yemen war after the Iran-aligned Houthi group overthrew the Riyadh-backed government and took control of the capital, Sanaa.
Tensions between the two countries have led to conflicts across the region, including the Syrian Civil War.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 29, 2023
UAE, Qatar in process to restore relations; reopen embassies

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After years of strained relations, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar are in the process of restore diplomatic relations and reopening the closed embassies in the coming weeks.
The development in relations between Qatar and the UAE comes more than two years after the signing of the Al-Ula agreement, which ended the Gulf crisis and the blockade of Qatar.
“At present, the activation of diplomatic ties, which will include the reopening of embassies, is under process between both countries,” a UAE official said in a statement in response to a question from Reuters.

“Work is underway between the Qatari and Emirati teams to reopen the respective embassies as soon as possible, exact date to be announced upon the finalization of the process,” Qatar’s International Media Office told CNBC in a statement.
It is noteworthy that in mid-2017, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt imposed a land, air and sea blockade on Qatar, claiming its support for terrorism, which Doha has repeatedly denied.
Riyadh and Cairo were the first to reappoint ambassadors to Doha in 2021 following a Saudi-led Al-Ula agreement to end the dispute, while Bahrain announced last week that it had decided to restore diplomatic relations.
All countries, with the exception of Bahrain, have already restored trade and travel links with Qatar in early 2021, while the UAE has said it will take some time to resume diplomatic relations.

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#UAE #Qatar #process #restore #relations #reopen #embassies
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 20, 2023
Iran, Saudi to exchange envoys after reopening embassies

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Tehran: The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman has said that Iran and Saudi Arabia will exchange ambassadors after the reopening of their diplomatic missions.
Nasser Kanaani said on Monday that the Saudi team arrived in Iran on Saturday to lay the groundwork for the reopening of the kingdom’s embassy in Tehran and consulate general in the northeastern city of Mashhad, Xinhua news agency reported, citing a report by Iran’s official news agency IRNA.
He added that the Iranian delegation will soon travel to Saudi Arabia for the same purpose ahead of the scheduled reopening of Iran’s embassy in Riyadh and its consulate general and representative office to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Jeddah.

Following the signing of a joint statement by Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud in Beijing on Thursday, the two countries have practically resumed official diplomatic relations, Kanaani said.
Praising China for its “goodwill and positive approach” and “constructive role” in the normalisation of ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia, Kanaani said Beijing had helped complete the diplomatic process that started in Baghdad and Muscat, and bring about a “constructive transformation” in relations between Tehran and Riyadh.
During their meeting in Beijing on Thursday, the Iranian and Saudi foreign ministers agreed to lay the groundwork for the exchange of economic delegations from public and private sectors, and hold meetings between their joint economic commissions, according to Kanaani.
Saudi Arabia and Iran reached a deal in March to resume diplomatic relations and reopen embassies and missions in the two countries within two months.
Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Iran in 2016 in response to the attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran after the kingdom executed a Shiite cleric.

(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by Siasat staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 11, 2023
Saudi, Iranian FMs agree to meet ahead of reopening embassies

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Tehran: Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud have agreed to meet at the earliest opportunity to prepare the ground for the reopening of embassies and consulate generals between the two countries, the Foreign Ministry in Tehran announced on Thursday.
The two Ministers discussed the issues in a phone call to congratulate each other on the starting of the Muslim fasting month of Ramzan, Xinhua news agency quoted the Ministry as saying.
The Saudi Foreign Minister pointed to the positive achievements of the Beijing meeting, in which the two countries signed an agreement on the normalisation of ties after seven years, and highlighted the necessity of meeting his Iranian counterpart in the near future and the reopening of the embassies.
Meanwhile, Amir-Abdollahian expressed satisfaction with the detente between Tehran and Riyadh, expressing Iran’s readiness to develop and strengthen bilateral relations.
China, Saudi Arabia and Iran on March 10 announced that Riyadh and Tehran had reached a deal that included the agreement to resume diplomatic relations and reopen embassies and missions within two months.
On Sunday, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud invited Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to visit Riyadh.
Following the agreement to restore diplomatic relations, the two nations also announced they will reopen embassies within two months and re-establish trade and security relations.
Saudi Arabia cut ties in January 2016 after demonstrators stormed its embassy in Tehran after Riyadh had executed the prominent Shia Muslim cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, who was convicted of terror-related offences.

Since then, tensions between the Sunni- and Shia-led neighbours have often been high, with each regarding the other as a threatening power seeking regional dominance.
They have been on opposing sides of several regional conflicts, including the civil wars in Syria and Yemen.
(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by Siasat staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 23, 2023
KTR raises objection to proposed Data Embassies in Gujarat

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Hyderabad: Telangana’s Minister for Information Technology K.T. Rama Rao on Thursday wrote a letter to the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, raising serious objections against the Budget proposal for establishing the Data Embassies in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT city).
The minister detailed the “huge risks” involved in establishing International Data Embassies at one location, that too in a state highly prone to earthquakes.
The letter also highlights the advantages that Hyderabad holds as an ideal location for data centres.
Moreover, this move might pose a security threat as the proposed location is in a state sharing a border with another country.
The Minister suggested that the interests of the client countries should also be considered while choosing the location of the Data Embassies.
KTR said that Hyderabad is in Seismic Zone-II, one of the least active seismic zones in India, which makes the city an ideal location for setting up data centres.
“In contrast, GIFT city is located in Seismic Zone-III and is very close to Seismic Zone-IV, indicating that the region is at a high risk for earthquakes. Developing international data embassies in such an area presents potential risks and could have significant consequences for international relations if critical infrastructure is impacted,” KTR added.
The minister said that after due diligence, global data centre majors chose Telangana to invest in setting up their large data centres.

From Amazon Web Services to Microsoft Azure, the state is now home to several hyperscale and edge data centres.
The minister said that the state government launched its Data Centre Policy in 2016, and offered several important incentives and approval provisions to facilitate the setting up of data centres.
Access to dual power grids, low-cost power supply and a high-speed fibre network are a few such provisions.
“The overall experience of the companies which have invested in Telangana has been extremely positive. The State will be happy to provide similar support to International Data Embassies,” the Minister remarked.
Further, KTR urged the Union Finance Minister to modify the Budget proposal to provide them with multiple locations that would suit their data security requirements.
KTR said that it would provide a level playing field for data infrastructure among the states.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 16, 2023
Indians can now get US visa appointment at American embassies abroad

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New Delhi: The US Embassy in India has said that Indians who are travelling abroad can get a visa appointment at the US Embassy or consulate of their destination. It cited the example of Thailand, saying that the country has opened appointment capacity for B1 and B2 visas (business and travel) for Indians.
The US Embassy in India took to its Twitter handle to make the announcement. In a tweet on February 3, the US Embassy in India stated, “Do you have upcoming international travel? If so, you may be able to get a visa appointment at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in your destination. For example, @USEmbassyBKK has opened B1/B2 appointment capacity for Indians who will be in Thailand in the coming months.”
Do you have upcoming international travel? If so, you may be able to get a visa appointment at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in your destination. For example, @USEmbassyBKK has opened B1/B2 appointment capacity for Indians who will be in Thailand in the coming months. pic.twitter.com/tjunlBqeYu
— U.S. Embassy India (@USAndIndia) February 3, 2023
Meanwhile, the US Embassy in India in another tweet informed that they have processed more than 1 Lakh visa applications. It further said that their team will grow this spring.
The US Embassy in a tweet on February 4 stated, “This January, the U.S. Mission to India processed over 1 Lakh visa applications. That’s more than in any month since July 2019 and one of our highest monthly totals ever! And we aren’t done yet. Our capacity will continue to increase as our team grows this spring.”
Earlier on January 21, the US Mission in India launched the first in a series of special Saturday interview days to reduce wait times for first-time visa applicants. The US Embassy in New Delhi and Consulates in Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad all opened consular operations on Saturday to accommodate applicants who require in-person visa interviews.
“On January 21, the U.S. Mission in India launched the first in a series of special Saturday interview days, as part of a larger effort to reduce wait times for first-time visa applicants,” the US Embassy in India announced in a statement.
The US Mission will continue to open additional slots for appointments to take place on select Saturdays, according to the statement released by US Embassy in India. These additional interview days is among the measures that have been taken to address the backlog in visa processing caused by COVID-19.
The US Department of State has implemented remote processing of interview waiver cases for applicants with previous US visas. According to the statement, dozens of temporary consular officers from Washington and other embassies will arrive in India to increase processing capacity between January-March.

The US Department of State is also increasing the number of consular officers permanently assigned to the Embassy and Consulates. The US Mission in India released more than 250,000 additional B1/B2 appointments, according to the statement released by US Embassy in India.
Consulate General Mumbai has also extended its weekday operating hours to make space for additional appointments. According to the statement, the US Mission in India will be at full staffing by this summer and they expect to be processing visas at levels from prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 6, 2023