Current Affairs

UPSC PERSIAN GULF - English

PERSIAN GULF

Physical Geography: An arm of the Arabian Sea; between the southwestern Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.

Bordering Countries: Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman (Musandam exclave) and Iran. Connected to the Gulf of Oman in the east by the Strait of Hormuz. The Strait of Hormuz is situated between Qeshm Island and the Iranian coast in the north and the Musandam Peninsula of the Arabian Peninsula in the south.

Strategic Importance:

• Persian Gulf countries are major producers of crude oil and natural gas.
• Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia are members of OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries).
• United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait are members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

Recent Topics

Chabahar Port

• It is located on the Gulf of Oman and is only 72 km away from the Gwadar port in Pakistan which has been developed by China.
• It is the only Iranian port with direct access to the Indian ocean and consists of two separate ports named Shahid Beheshti and Shahid Kalantari.
• Afghanistan, Iran and India signed a tripartite agreement on developing Chabahar port and setting up a trilateral transport and transit corridor in 2016.
• Connectivity: It is a key part of India’s plans to enhance connectivity to Afghanistan and the Central Asian states.

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