Indian Council of World Affairs

Dr. Maxim Suchkov, Director, Institute for International Studies, MGIMO University

H.E. Denis Alipov, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to India

Members of the Russian Delegation

I would like to begin by congratulating both sides on the 25^th anniversary of the India-Russia Strategic Partnership, the Declaration for which was signed on October 3, 2000, during President Vladimir Putin's visit to New Delhi. Over the years, the relations between our countries have continued to evolve into a long standing and reliable friendship notwithstanding domestic politics and the geopolitical shifts currently underway in the world order. As we prepare for President Putin’s visit to India for the 23^rd Annual India-Russia Summit next month, today’s meeting offers an opportunity to chart a forward-looking agenda for the India-Russia relationship.

We are meeting amid the ongoing geopolitical churn, a phenomenon which continues to intensify by the day. Great power contestations continue to impact the lives of millions. From several crises in different regions of the world to shifting alignments, trade/tariffs wars, the world is witnessing unprecedented revisions in defense and security postures and strategies of key countries. Conflict in Ukraine has had global repercussions. Geopolitical contestations are evident in other geographies and in also domains such as technology or rare earth minerals. These global changes, including escalating geopolitical tensions and the rise of a multipolar world, form the backdrop to our meeting and a timely opportunity to discuss trends in our relationship.

As India and Russia deal with tectonic changes in the global scenario, they have maintained independent foreign policies and pursued strategic autonomy. While this means that there may be a few issues on which our approaches may not exactly align or even diverge, we will have to persevere in the pursuit of our ties being conscious of the firm foundations of our relationship. As we go along, we would need enhanced understanding and appreciation for our respective approaches and interests based on mutual respect for each other. At the same time, we have to remind ourselves that India-Russia relationship is a relationship of global consequence. Our relationship will have a resonance for the emerging New World Order.

We have structured the agenda of our talks today on Geopolitical Turbulence and Multipolarity; Eurasian Outlook for Stability and Prosperity; and Indo-Pacific and Maritime Security.

At ICWA, we believe that the world is already multipolar and that this is increasingly becoming a widely acknowledged fact. We see a multipolar world order as a critical foundational step towards long-term stability, predictability and harmony in international relations. In our view, a multipolar world order stands for distributed power, distributed responsibilities according to capabilities and better discharge of duties. It stands for a just and sound balance between rights and obligations, between self-reliance and inter-dependence. Multipolarity implies respect for inclusivity, diversity and pluralism.

We also feel that India’s call for advancing reformed multilateralism reinforces multipolarity. The multipolar world order will have to be upheld through robust institutional support. This would imply revisiting regional and global governance institutions, their role, their functioning, and most essentially their spirit – rejuvenating some, rejecting some, as well as bringing up new ones. So, we have to look at not only the reform of the UN, but also of international financial institutions – the WB, IMF, MDBs – or the trade related institutions – WTO. We also have to look at the rejuvenation of regional and inter-regional organizations such as SCO, CICA, BRICS. 

As regards global turbulence, I would like to say that, since 2021 and post pandemic, the global churn has also taken root in South Asia through a wave of political transitions across almost every country in our neighbourhood. Some transitions have come through Gen Z street protests followed by dismissal of elected Governments such as in Nepal and Sri Lanka, some through coups such as in Bangladesh and Myanmar; violent protests by political parties, radical outfits in Pakistan have also been no different. Taken together, these regime changes have not only altered national trajectories but are also resetting external alignments, creating ripple effects across the entire region.

On Eurasia, I would like to say that the dynamics of continental Eurasia have had an impact on the security, economy, culture and ethnic diversity of India since millennia. India’s civilizational history is testimony to this inter-connectedness. Since the turn of the millennium especially, India has been steadily entering into development, connectivity, security partnerships with Eurasian countries from Mongolia to Iran, from the Central Asian Republics to the Caucasus. The objective has been to contribute to Eurasian stability in a manner that builds for India a peaceful and friendly periphery and a conducive environment for its own growth and development story. Of course, the Af-Pak region, terrorism, radicalization have remained key threats emanating from the Eurasian region for India alongwith arms and drug trafficking. An essential component of our Eurasian Outlook has been our engagement with multilateral organizations of this region like SCO, CICA, and EAEU. We will be discussing these themes today.

Our third session is on Indo-Pacific and Maritime Security. The salience of the Indo-Pacific theatre is increasing in India’s strategic calculus. India has always underscored the importance of a peaceful and a rules-based maritime order, where disputes are settled through dialogue and in accordance with international law.  India’s Security and Growth for All vision, now broadened to MAHASAGAR, envisions inclusive cooperation bringing together economic & development partnership and maritime security concerns on a common platform while respecting international maritime laws and norms. A free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region will bring progress and prosperity to all. Therefore, we look at working on complementarities and on initiatives with all countries in this region.  India emphasizes the centrality of ASEAN in the Indo-Pacific.

Russia is an important partner for India, both in the continental and in the maritime space. Our navies have traditionally had wide-ranging linkages and cooperation, as also our ship-building sectors. Non-traditional challenges to security in the maritime sector such as piracy and armed robbery at sea, maritime pollution, oil spills, IUU fishing, overexploitation of resources, etc. are areas where we can cooperate. Also, important is cooperation in Maritime Domain Awareness, utilizing space based assets for this, and to make waters crime-free. Cooperation in multilateral norm-setting and enforcement institutions dealing with these issues is also important.

Russia and India have developed their relations of ‘special and privileged’ strategic partnership accorded first in 2010. Our bilateral cooperation encompasses almost all pillars of cooperation, ranging from defence, science & technology, energy, trade, to people-to-people cooperation and also multilateral cooperation.

With this, I warmly welcome our Russian friends to New Delhi once again. And I look forward to fruitful discussions.

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