A new breakthrough happened in the Indo-Russian relationship on the sidelines of the 2019 G20 summit. On this note, the proposal by the Indian government to move forward with the S-400 defense system, whose payment would apparently be made in euros to a Russian nominated bank speaks heaps about the eminence that India attaches towards the relationship. However, for a partnership to become robust it needs to be supported by strong geo-political and geo-economic foundations that will provide it with much needed sustenance.
Apropos, during the Bishkek summit, PM Modi’s bilateral with his Russian counterpart outlays the significance of Russia in India’s foreign policy. This was visible through remarks of Vijay Gokhale, the foreign secretary, who emphasized upon Russia’s participation in India’s Act East policy, where India is looking to expand collaboration in Russia’s Far East.
Further, PM Modi’s acceptance of Vladimir Putin’s invite to be the Chief Guest for the Eastern Economic Forum to be held in Vladivostok early September also outlines the strategic importance accorded to this partnership, as the two leaders decide to further widen the scope of their economic partnership, in sectors such as energy, Arctic region, transfer of technology among others.
A defining aspect of the Indo-Russian partnership,post the Cold War days includes the military-technical cooperation between the two countries that have gone up tremendously and is probably at its most dynamic stage.With the induction of Russia into India’s Act East policy, where both Russia and India prepare to explore areas for enhancing India’s presence in Russia’s Far East, spell both economic and strategic imperatives for India, given the uncertainty in the international affairs.
So far, there is trade imbalance in favour of Russia, a marked departure from the past when the erstwhile Soviet Union was among India’s leading trade partners. More so, according to statistics, India-Russia trade during 2015-16 amounted to a dismal $6.7 billion, thereby highlighting the fact that trade and investment ties remain far below potential. In this sense, the above initiatives reflect some semblance of hope of reigniting the aspect of economic cooperation between the countries that has so far remained dormant.
So where exactly do the India-Russia relations stand now? The relationship in fact is quite a good metaphor for the polycentric world of offsetting ties of cooperation and competition as the sun sets in the turn on US unipolar dominance. Russia‘s pivot to Asia (read: China) started in 2014, following the US and the European Union, imposing sanctions to isolate Moscow after its annexation of Crimea. Further, Chinese premier Xi Jinping’s visit to Moscow, underscoring the strengthening of the Beijing-Moscow axis, compounded with Moscow’s outreach to Pakistan has definitely triggered concerns in New Delhi.
Thus, in a world that is increasingly grappling with the challenges of the bipolar emergence of power (US and China), India and Russia share a convergence of interests. In times such as this, where Trump is interested in pushing towards a “deglobalisation wave” while China is promoting “globalisation2.0.”,it makes sense for India and Russia to strengthen collaboration in all forms to hedge any disruptive forces.
India Outbound
July 4, 2019
source https://indiaoutbound.org/indian-russian-ties-amidst-changing-eurasian-dynamics/
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