Indian Council of World Affairs

The Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) and the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) organised their eighth annual dialogue on 20 March 2025 at Sapru House, New Delhi. The Dialogue focused on sharing the Indian and Russian perspectives on the changing dynamics in the world order as well as new and existing frontiers of cooperation between India and Russia.

The inaugural remarks were delivered by Ms. Nutan Kapoor Mahawar, Additional Secretary, ICWA; Dr. Ivan Timofeev, Director General, Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC); Mr. Roman Babushkin, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Russia in India and Mr. Nikhilesh Giri, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of India in Russia. Speakers noted that India-Russia mutual trust and resilience is exemplary. Despite the ongoing geopolitical flux, India and Russia have continued to expand the scope of their bilateral relations. Indian side shared assessments regarding political, security and economic situation in its neighbourhood; Russian side shared assessments regarding the situation in Ukraine and prospects for peace, Trump politics, and US-China strategic competition.

The first session focused on the theme “Changing Dynamics in the Global Order." It was chaired by Prof. Sanjay Pandey, Centre for Russian and Central Asian Studies, School of International Studies, JNU. Speakers included Dr. Sanjeev Kumar, Senior Research Fellow, ICWA; Dr. Maxim Suchkov, Director of the Institute for International Studies, MGIMO University; Dr. Nivedita Ray, Director (Research), ICWA; Dr. Ivan Timofeev, Director General, RIAC and Dr. Himani Pant, Research Fellow, ICWA. Speakers shared views on the changing world order and agreed that the world is already multipolar and that this is an increasing trend. The world order is experiencing rebalancing with changing Great Power equations. A commitment to multilateralism was reiterated and the need to advance reforms of institutions of global governance including the UN was highlighted. Discussion was held on the desirable characteristics of the emerging New World Order. The role of plurilateral institutions such as BRICS, SCO, G20 in enhancing multilateral cooperation was emphasized. The two sides also noted that Eurasia was a region of common interest and called for approaches for promoting security and development in the region.

The second session of the Dialogue focused on "Dimensions of India-Russia Collaboration: Factoring Economic, Energy, and Connectivity Ties." It was chaired by Ms. Julia Melnikova, Head, Asia and Eurasia Program, RIAC. Speakers included Dr. Ivan Timofeev, Director General, RIAC; Mr. Amit Bhandari, Senior Fellow, Gateway House; Dr. Lydia Kulik, Head of India Studies, Moscow School of Management & Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Oriental Studies RAS; Dr. Himani Pant, Research Fellow, ICWA; Mr. Igor Makarov, Head, School of World Economy, HSE University and Mr. Aman Kumar, Research Associate, ICWA. Speakers deliberated on expanding the scope of economic engagement between the two countries while addressing barriers to bilateral trade. The need to sustain the recent growth in bilateral trade was emphasized. Both sides shared their views on the prospects for an India-EAEU FTA and also discussed the scope for financial cooperation, including settlements in national currencies and joint investments. Discussion was held on the impact of US sanctions. Recent trends in reconfiguration of Russian supply chains in favour of India were noted. Avenues for bilateral cooperation in agriculture sector and enhancing food security were discussed.

The third session focused on "Emerging Frontiers of India-Russia Bilateral Collaboration." It was chaired by Prof. Chintamani Mahapatra, Founder & Honorary Chairperson, Kalinga Institute of Indo-Pacific Studies and Editor, India Quarterly. Speakers included Dr. Athar Zafar, Senior Research Fellow, ICWA; Dr. Julia Melnikova, Head, Asia and Eurasia Program, RIAC; Dr. Stuti Banerjee, Senior Research Fellow, ICWA; Dr. Alexey Kupriyanov, Head of Center of the Indo-Pacific Region, IMEMO, RAS; Dr. Pragya Pandey, Research Fellow, ICWA; Dr. Irina Strelnikova, Associate Professor, HSE University & Senior Researcher, Institute of China and Contemporary Asia, RAS and Mr. Aman Kumar, Research Associate, ICWA. Speakers underscored the need to enhance connectivity linkages in order to enhance India-Russia bilateral cooperation as well as to improve regional connectivity in Eurasia. Speakers also highlighted the prospects for cooperation in the Arctic and Russian Far East for mutual benefit and environmental stability. Both sides shared views on the Indo-Pacific and explored convergences in their outlook.   

The closing remarks were made by Ms Nutan Kapoor Mahawar, Additional Secretary ICWA and Dr. Ivan Timofeev, DG, RIAC.