Ali Falih Kadhim al-Zaidi has been sworn in as the Prime Minister (PM) of Iraq and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the country. Nominated by the Coordination Framework, he is the youngest PM in the modern history of Iraq at the age of 40. He succeeds Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.
The Union Cabinet has approved the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) 5.0 with an outlay of ₹18,100 crore to assist Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in mitigating short-term liquidity stress arising from the crisis in West Asia. The scheme provides 100% credit guarantee coverage for MSMEs and 90% for non-MSMEs and the airline sector. Eligible borrowers include MSMEs and non-MSMEs with existing working capital limits and scheduled passenger airlines with outstanding credit facilities as of March 2026, provided their accounts are classified as standard.
The USA has launched ‘Project Freedom’, a naval escort operation to guide stranded commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz. The operation was initiated under President Donald Trump in response to the growing tensions between Iran and the USA. The primary objective of the project is to ensure secure maritime passage and protect global shipping routes from disruptions caused by regional conflicts and oil supply instability.
Dr Neena Malhotra, Secretary (South) of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), has chaired the Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) Deputy Foreign Ministers and Special Envoys for the Middle East and North Africa (BRICS MENA) meeting in New Delhi.
The deliberations focused on the post-conflict reconstruction in Syria, achieving a political settlement in Yemen, and promoting stability and development in Iraq. The representatives also discussed the progress of the political process in Libya and the humanitarian crisis in Sudan. It is to be noted that the participating members have agreed to meet again in 2027 under the chairship of China.
The Government of India (GoI) has expanded the scope of the “Resilience & Logistics Intervention for Export Facilitation” (RELIEF) scheme under the Export Promotion Mission (EPM) by including Egypt and Jordan as eligible destinations. The initiative aims to assist exporters of India in mitigating logistics disruptions and escalating costs resulting from the prevailing geopolitical situation in West Asia.
Nizar Mohammed Saeed Amedi, belonging to the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), has been elected as the 9th President of Iraq. He succeeds Abdul Latif Rashid.