In 2017 Russia and India celebrated the 70th Anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. To mark the event the Vivekananda International Foundation and the Russian International Affairs Council held the first of their proposed annual bilateral dialogues in New Delhi. This resulted in a Joint Text which was released on the eve of PM Modi’s visit to St. Petersburg to participate at the International Economic Forum. This Text was completely re-worked through the summer of 2017 and it has resulted in a Joint Report that was released by our Ambassador to Moscow, Mr. Pankaj Saran on 11 October 2017. The Report opens up a new discussion on the prospects of Russia-India relations and the steps required to develop them further. It is also hoped that ideas and recommendations expressed herein will provide the necessary expert support for state level contacts and will be helpful in foreign policy decision-making by the two governments.
Some of the highlights of the Report are:
• While Russia and India enjoy a special and privileged partnership based on deep trust and understanding, but there is a need to do more to forge common positions various bilateral and international fora.
• To achieve substantial progress in bilateral relations it is necessary to renew their strategic paradigm. Working on a range of cooperation projects that meet the new economic needs of Russia and India will make a qualitative leap in economic ties possible.
• Joint initiatives should be based on the global competitive edge of both countries and transition to new development models. The cooperation mechanisms must be revised to adapt to new realities.
• The ultimate goal of this revision is to make Russia–India relations independent of their ties with third countries and impervious to crises and changes in global circumstances.
• It is important to further expand Russia–India engagement on the international arena and to strengthen international groups such as the SCO and BRICS, where China seems to dominate to the detriment of India.
• Ideally, Russia should continue to actively support India’s claim for greater participation in international affairs, particularly in reforming the United Nations, expanding the number of permanent members in the Security Council and membership of technology-related international regimes of which Russia is a member.
• There is a need to build an economic stake in this relationship. It is important to increase the efficiency of existing economic cooperation mechanisms at all levels – by encouraging direct contacts between the business communities of the two countries.
• Both need to look at ways to strengthen industrial cooperation and create close technological alliances and integrated manufacturing chains in those sectors where both Russia and India have significant capacities in terms of personnel and resources.