Of late, the Russian Embassy in India witnessed a vibrant cycle rally celebrating the 78th anniversary of India-Russia diplomatic relations. The rally marked the 80th anniversary of Russia’s victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.
History of India-Russia Bilateral Relations
(i) Establishment of Diplomatic Relations: Formal diplomatic relations between India and the Soviet Union were established in April 1947, before India’s independence.
(ii) Indo-Soviet Treaty of Friendship: During the Indo-Pak War (1971), Russia gave full support to India and the USA to Pakistan.
(iii) Proclamation of India-Russia Strategic Partnership: It was signed when President Putin visited India in October 2000.
(iv) Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership: In 2010, the strategic partnership between the two countries was elevated to the level of “Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership”.
(v) Start of 2+2 Dialogue: In December 2021, the Prime Minister and President Putin held a summit-level conversation, along with the first 2+2 dialogue (between the foreign and defence ministers of the two countries).
Areas of Cooperation between India and Russia
Trade and Economic Relations
(i) Bilateral Trade: Bilateral trade peaked tp $65.70 billion in FY 2023-24.
(a) India exports majorly pharmaceuticals, organic chemicals, electrical machinery and mechanical equipment, and iron and steel.
(b) Major items of imports from Russia include crude oil and petroleum products, fertilisers, mineral resources, precious stones and metals, and vegetable oil.
(ii) Bilateral Investment: Bilateral investment between the two countries remains strong and has achieved the revised target of $50 billion by the year 2025.
(iii) In the field of Energy: Between February 2022 and 2023, following the Russia-Ukraine conflict, India’s oil imports from Russia increased from 1 per cent (3.6 million tonnes) to 40 per cent (56 million tonnes) of India’s gross oil imports.
Defence and Security
(i) Military Exercises: Every segment of the armed forces from both sides participates in bilateral and multilateral military exercises.
(a) Exercise INDRA held in the year 2021. Multilateral exercises like Vostok.
(ii) Bilateral Projects: These include the supply of S-400, licensed production of T-90 tanks and Su-30 MKI, supply of MiG-29 and Kamov helicopters, INS Vikramaditya (Admiral Gorshkov), production of AK-203 rifles in India, and BrahMos missiles.
Science and Technology
(i) Both countries are collaborating on basic sciences, materials science, mathematics, and cutting-edge areas. These areas include India’s space program (Gaganyaan), nanotechnology, and quantum computing.
(ii) India’s only nuclear power plant established with another country (Russia) is the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant located in Tamil Nadu.
Academic Sector
(i) Indian students got admission in Russia in subjects like engineering, economics, science, and other subjects. The majority of Indian students studying in Russia are from a medical background.
(ii) Many Russian universities teach Indology along with Indian languages like Hindi, Sanskrit, and Pali. Indology is the academic study of India, its people, culture, languages , and literature.
Citizen to Citizen Relations
- The e-visa facility by both countries has contributed to strengthening the people-to-people relations.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi got Russia’s highest national award, “The Order of St. Andrew the Apostle,” during his 2024 visit.
India-Russia Relations: Key Challenges
(i) Russia-China Relations: Russia and China are heavily engaging in military and joint economic activities. It can impact traditional India-Russia relations.
(ii) Growing Closeness with Pakistan: In recent years, Russia started ameliorating its ties with Pakistan, which may be an aftereffect of the rising closeness between India-US.
(iii) Diplomatic Dilemma for India: India’s trade of arms worth 20 billion dollars from the US in the last twenty years.
(iv) Russia-Ukraine conflict: India took a back seat in opposing Russia at various forums. On the other hand, India’s rising energy and economic cooperation with Russia is facing bad words from Western countries.
(v) Russia’s concerns over Indian foreign policy: Russian officials have always criticised the idea of the Indo-Pacific and the Quad.
(vi) Delay in Defence Equipment: Russia’s delayed delivery of the S-400 Triumf air defence system, largely due to the Ukraine conflict and related sanctions, has raised concerns in Indian defence circles.
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Way Forward
(i) Engagement in India-Russia relations through various forums: India and Russia share common international organisations. These include BRICS, Russia-India-China Group (RIC), G20, East Asia Summit, and SCO, where opportunities for cooperation exist on issues of mutual importance.
(ii) Cooperation in the Security Council: Russia has been a supporter of India on various issues at the international level. So, in a situation of the Ukraine crisis, India has also been supporting Russia directly and indirectly from time to time.
(iii) Exploring new dimensions for relations: India-Russia relations cannot survive only based on defence and historical ties. So, both sides can cooperate in areas like counter-terrorism, cybersecurity, space, and climate change.
(iv) Implementing Reciprocal Exchange of Logistics Agreement (RELOS): It will simplify military-to-military exchanges for exercises, training, port calls, and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) efforts.
Conclusion
The India-Russia partnership is an epitome of one of the most stable relationships in the contemporary era. They both shared a commitment to a multipolar world and going beyond the conventional areas of military, nuclear, and space cooperation. In addition, both desire to strengthen cooperation in the development of their bilateral relations by fulfilling their national interests.