External Affairs minister of India has visited Russia for a Bilateral Meeting where both the countries signed agreements on Nuclear Power and in areas of medicines, pharmaceutical substances and medical devices.
Key Highlights of the India-Russia Bilateral Meeting
Economic Collaboration
- Emphasis on strategic collaboration in defense, space exploration, nuclear energy, and technology sharing, reflecting the robustness of the longstanding partnership and exploring avenues for deeper cooperation.
- Both Countries agreed on the expansion of the exports of Russian hydrocarbons to the Indian market as well as the cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
- The two sides finalised the programme of cooperation in the Far East and it was decided to hold an early meeting of EaEU-India FTA negotiations.
Agreement on Nuclear Power Plants
- India and Russia signed agreements to move forward with future units of the Kudankulam nuclear power project in Tamil Nadu.
- India is already operating two Russian-built nuclear plants while another four are under construction in Kudankulam, Tamil Nadu.
- The Kudankulam nuclear power plant, India’s largest, is being built in Tamil Nadu with the technical assistance of Russia. The construction began in March 2002. Since February 2016, the first power unit of the Kudankulam NPP has been steadily operating at its design capacity of 1,000 MW.
- The plant is expected to start operating at full capacity in 2027, according to Russian state media.
Diplomatic Initiatives
- Discussion on multilateral forums and international organizations where India and Russia collaborate or hold common interests, including forums like BRICS, SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization), and UN affairs.
Indo-Russia Relations
Historical Background
- During the Cold War, India and the Soviet Union had a strong strategic, military, economic and diplomatic relationship. After the Dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia inherited its close relationship with India which resulted in both nations sharing a Special Strategic Relation.
- However, the relations have taken a steep downfall over the past few years, especially in the post-Covid scenario. One of the biggest causes for this is Russia’s close relations with China and Pakistan, which have caused many geopolitical issues in the past few years for India.
Political Relations
- Two Inter-Governmental Commissions – one on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC), and another on Military-Technical Cooperation (IRIGC- MTC), meet annually.
Bilateral Trade
- India’s total bilateral trade with Russia stood at ~USD 13 Billion in 2021-22 and USD 8.14 Billion in 2020-21.
- Russia is India’s seventh biggest trading partner, up from 25th position in 2021.
- The US, China, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Indonesia were the six countries that recorded higher volumes of trade with India during the first five months of 2022-23.