NEW DELHI, June 23: Eleven India-bound ships have transited through the Strait of Hormuz after the US and Iran finalised a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to end the West Asia conflict, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Tuesday.
With the US withdrawing sanctions on Iranian petroleum products as part of the peace deal, New Delhi said it is monitoring the developments in West Asia and that its energy sourcing is guided by national interest.
“As of today, we have 10 Indian-flagged vessels still in the Persian Gulf region. In addition, two have recently arrived there,” MEA spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said at a media briefing.
“Since the signing of the MoU on June 17, 11 India bound vessels have transited through the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.
The vessels include three Indian-flagged crude oil tankers, each carrying over 285,000 MT (Metric Tonnes) of crude oil; one foreign-flagged LPG carrier, one foreign-flagged crude oil tanker and six foreign-flagged bulk carriers , carrying fertilisers, he said.
“We hope that the remaining India flagged vessels would also be able to cross the Hormuz soon,” Jaiswal added.
To a question on US removing sanctions on Iranian crude oil, Jaiswal said: “We are closely monitoring all developments related to West Asia. As far as our energy sourcing is concerned, you are well aware that our policy is guided by national interest.” “Our priority is to ensure that 1.4 billion people have access to energy at affordable prices and from diverse sources. This has consistently been our policy,” he said.
To a separate question, Jaiswal said India has maintained good relations with Palestine for decades.
Under our development partnership framework, we have extended several development projects to Palestine, he said. (PTI)
