- PM Modi’s visit to Russia has been productive for India where it maintained its strategic autonomy by safeguarding its national interests and maintaining its long-lasting strategic relation with a vital partner.
- Russia has proposed the development of floating nuclear power plants which is important for India which aims to triple its nuclear power generation capacity by 2030.
- India and Russia have set an ambitious target of raising the bilateral trade to $100bn by 2030, eliminating non-tariff barriers and developing a ‘bilateral settlement’ system using respective national currencies.
On July 8, 2024, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Russia marked a significant milestone in the diplomatic relationship between the two nations. The visit will also be remembered as the first visit of Modi ever since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and his third term. This visit, underscored by a series of high-profile meetings and strategic agreements, holds profound implications for India’s foreign policy and its positioning on the global stage.
India and Russia share a long history of diplomatic and strategic cooperation. During the days of the Cold War, India’s non-aligned stance leaned heavily towards the Soviet Union, resulting in robust military and economic partnerships. Post-l shifts, India has maintained its relationship with Russia despite geopolitical shifts, balancing its strategic interests with other global powers, particularly the United States.
PM Narendra Modi’s visit reaffirmed the time-tested bonhomie between the two countries. On the very first day of the visit, Modi met Putin, whom they welcomed with a hug and flooded social media as a testimony of PM Modi’s equation with the Russian President. Later on, the two leaders had an informal discussion before the commencement of their official talk. They discussed a wide range of issues including the war in Ukraine, defence cooperation, trade, and energy. In an official meeting, India also announced the opening of two new consulates in Russia, one in Kazan and the other one in Yekaterinburg.
This 22nd India-Russia summit can be seen as a success for India, in many ways. Firstly, the two countries signed various MoUs (Memorandum of Understanding) and agreements to reinforce their commitments in areas like Climate change, trade, agriculture, science and technology. Secondly, India and Russia set an ambitious target of raising the bilateral trade to $100bn by 2030, which presently stands at $65bn. It also included plans to eliminate non-tariff barriers and develop a ‘bilateral settlement’ system using respective national currencies.
During the meeting, Russia proposed the development of floating nuclear power plants. Not just an ambitious target for trade, but also India aims to triple its nuclear power generation capacity by 2030, significantly increasing the share of nuclear energy in its electricity mix by 2047, its 100th year of independence. Both states also came forward in the field of ‘communication’ by collaborating on broadcasting between India’s Prasar Bharati & Russia’s ANO TV-Novosti (Russia Today TV Channel).
The type of relationship PM Modi holds with Putin as a friend was reiterated by the Russian leader calling Modi “Param Mitra”.
The type of relationship PM Modi holds with Putin as a friend was reiterated by the Russian leader calling Modi “Param Mitra”, gave him an advantage to display India’s stand on the Ukraine-Russia war, where the PM mentioned ‘War is not the solution’, urged to explore diplomatic options. Telling this in the presence of the Russian President during an official visit also proves India’s position on the world stage. When the world leaders were busy condemning Russia on social media platforms about the missile strike on Ohmatdyt Children’s Hospital in Kyiv, the Indian PM directly flagged his concerns during the meeting with Putin. At the same time, PM Narendra Modi once again justified India’s position of buying Russian Oil at a discounted price for its people which helped India in controlling inflation.
Another significant decision that came from the Russian side was PM Modi being conferred the Russian Highest Civilian Honor, “the Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle”. This was announced back in 2019, which put India’s relationship with Russia on the same footing as China when Chinese President Xi Jinping was awarded the same back in 2017. This time also Russia once again restated its support for India’s United Nations Security Council bid.
Any state visit of PM Modi is incomplete without interacting with the Indian diaspora, going with tradition, the PM addressed the Indian community in the Russian capital. Calling Russia “India’s all-weather friend”, he said “Sukh Dukh ka Saathi” in Hindi.
The meeting also saw PM Modi’s few other concerns being expressed not just regarding the war and conflict but also about delays in supplies of spare parts for the military. India now wants to jointly manufacture spare parts and components in India under its ‘Make in India’ programme. Modi was also successful in securing a commitment from Putin about the Indians in the Russian Armed forces to be relieved and help to get back home.
Another significant decision that came from the Russian side was PM Modi being conferred the Russian Highest Civilian Honor, “the Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle”.
When the two leaders were having a great time in Moscow, India’s other partner United States was showing concerns about Modi’s closeness with the Russian President. This has always been the case for the US when India decided to purchase the S400 from Russia. The US warned India about imposing sanctions, and time and again India was advised by various US officials to distance itself from Russian defence equipment. But all these never became tough for India as it has successfully maintained ties with both camps. If India had close ties with Russia, at the same time it would have elevated its ties with the US through trade, people-to-people contact, and other important groupings like that of QUAD.
In a nutshell, this visit to Russia has been productive for India where it maintained its strategic autonomy by safeguarding its national interest, and maintained its long-lasting strategic relation with a vital partner, at the same time, asserted itself as a responsible emerging power by making its stand clear of ending the war.
(Pritam Sarbabidya is pursuing a Master’s in Politics and International Relations at the Department of Politics and International Studies, Pondicherry University. His Area of interest includes India’s Foreign Policy, Defence and Security Studies, Intelligence and Strategic Warfare. Views expressed are the author’s own)
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Saisha Kamla Dudha