Putin’s India Visit: The 22nd India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military & Military Technical Cooperation ministerial meeting was held in New Delhi today, with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Russian counterpart Andrei Belousov discussing a whole range of cooperation. Speaking during the meeting, Rajnath Singh said that Russia is a time-tested friend of India.
“Russia is a time-tested, special, privileged, and strategic partner of India, and our bilateral defence cooperation has grown significantly since the signing of the Declaration of the India-Russia Strategic Partnership in 2000. It is good that despite the geopolitical uncertainty, our India-Russia defence cooperation is moving at a healthy pace and the outcome-oriented exchanges between our Armed Forces personnel and experts have maintained the momentum of our defence partnership,” said Singh.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh further welcomed the successful holding of the 26th meeting of the India-Russia Working Group on Trade and Economic Cooperation in Moscow last month, and the commencement of negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement with the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union. “We were also eagerly awaiting the visit of His Excellency, Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, to India for the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit, which has been fulfilled today. I believe this Leaders’ Summit will further strengthen the Special and Privileged Partnership between our two countries,” he said.
Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov said that the two countries are bound by very deep traditions. “I am glad to meet you once again on Indian soil. As you just said, our countries are tied with a solid, time-proven friendship, which is based on mutual respect. And on our way here, while we were in the car discussing various things, we came to the common ground that we are bound by very deep traditions which are typical of the Russian and Indian nations…” he said.
According to Russian state media, 10 intergovernmental documents and more than 15 agreements and memorandums between commercial and non-commercial entities of both countries are being prepared for signing.
The visit is expected to significantly strengthen economic cooperation. President Putin is travelling with a large delegation of business leaders, and India hopes to narrow its trade deficit with Russia. Several avenues are being explored to boost Indian exports — including pharmaceuticals, automobiles, and agricultural goods such as marine products. A stronger export push will expand markets for Indian businesses and create more jobs while improving the livelihoods of farmers.
Multiple agreements and MoUs are likely in key sectors such as shipping, healthcare, fertilisers, and connectivity.
In addition, both sides are expected to deepen cooperation in people-to-people exchanges, mobility partnerships, cultural initiatives, and scientific collaboration.
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