“Strategic Dialogue: Russia and India”: Partnership and Pragmatism in a Changing World
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Editors of Russkiy Mir
On 7 April a bilateral meeting called “Strategic Dialogue: Russia and India” took place between Russian and Indian experts. Its organizers were two long-time partners: the Russkiy Mir Foundation and the Observer Research Foundation in India. The meeting was scheduled to precede the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and India, celebrated on 13 April.
Experts representing Russian and India took part in this meeting. The opening address and greeting were given by the First Deputy Chairman of the Russian State Duma Alexander Zhukov and the Chairman of the Management Board of the Russkiy Mir Foundation, the well-known political scientist Vyacheslav Nikonov. A representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Denis Alipov, read a message from Sergey Lavrov to the participants in the meeting. On the Indian side, policy statements were read by the Indian Ambassador to Moscow, Pankaj Saran, the Director of the Observer Foundation, Sunjoy Joshi, and the Vice President of this Foundation, Samir Saran.
“Strategic Dialogue: Russia and India”
As Alexander Zhukov noted in his presentation, Russian-Indian relations have taken on the unique status of a privileged strategic partnership. In addition, both states are very important centers of power in today’s world, which keeps moving away from unipolarity. “The unipolar world is fading into the past. Both our countries advocate for a system of global rule that reflects the interests of all countries to a full extent, including developing ones. We are for a world where the primacy of international law is acknowledged. We are interested in an inclusive world order. We are working hand-in-hand with our Indian strategic partners in international forums and associations, such as BRICS and now the SCO,” said Zhukov. While admitting that bilateral relations were not by any means developing without problems, the politician also accentuated the deepening dialogue between Russia and India in all matters.
Experts—Meeting Participants
Vyacheslav Nikonov called the relations between Russia and India “unprecedented.” He especially noted the very constructive relationship between the leaders of the two nations. Incidentally, not everything is so sunny. According to the Indian delegation, there exist difficulties in putting to practice the decisions made at a high level. What’s more, mutual misunderstandings take place in international affairs. According to Nikonov, Russia currently has a quite negative image in the Indian press, which is mainly tied to their relations with Pakistan. In the political scientist’s opinion, there is no substance to speculations that Russia may be seeking closer ties with Pakistan and thereby damaging their relationship with India.
The Indian ambassador to Moscow, Pankaj Saran, gave his own examples of cooperation between Russia and India—in politics, economic trade, and other spheres. The Indian diplomat also acknowledged that Russia is a privileged partner for his country. “It is rare to see such an intensive degree of interaction between major powers,” Pankaj Saran believes.
Vyacheslav Nikonov receives a commemoration in honor of the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Russia and India
At the same time, he warned against complacency: the future looks much less well defined today than it did before. We are leaving our comfort zone. The world is changing: India itself is quickly changing, bilateral relations are becoming more and more dynamic, and the two countries will need, the Indian ambassador believes, to continue having a comprehensive dialogue. He called for bilateral relations to be made more pragmatic, which would allow for interaction across the maximum spectrum of issues in international politics: economics, technological exchange, countermeasures against international terrorism, and so forth.
Space exploration, new technologies, economics, the creation of transport routes—these are all questions that stimulate our relationship with each other, agrees the Director of the Observer Foundation, Sunjoy Joshi. His colleague, Vice President of the Observer Foundation Samir Saran sees another problem in the lack of a reliable and generally accepted ideology, which increases global instability. In his opinion, it’s necessary to concentrate on developing a “new ethics for a new world.”
In the conference lobby: Alexander Zhukov, Vyacheslav Nikonov
The “Strategic Dialogue: India and Russia” meetings between experts have now been conducted over the course of ten years. At these yearly meetings, experts discuss a wide range of questions connected to the development of bilateral relations and the rule of the two powers in the global world order. This year the undertaking took on special significance, as it enters into the official program for celebrating the 70-year anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and India (13 April 1947) and effectively begins the series of events. What’s more, during the previous year, 2016, India chaired BRICS and was invited to become a member of SCO, and the bilateral “Strategic Dialogue” was a chance to take stock and define the strategic goals for cooperation between Russia and India, including involvement in these international associations.
Sunjoy Joshi (left) and Samir Saran
Experts on either side acknowledge that such meetings are very important, since they represent a chance to compare notes on the international agenda. As Sunjoy Joshi observed, during their years of cooperation Russia and India worked out a very trusting relationship with reach other, and it’s necessary to share their approaches to what’s happening in the world, since there do, of course, exist some differences in their perceptions and reactions to these events. In addition, Vyacheslav Nikonov emphasized, it’s very important for both sides of this dialogue to avoid using parentheses—even the most complicated questions should be brought up for discussion.
Indian Ambassador to Moscow Pankaj Saran
Over the course of “A Strategic Dialogue: Russia and India,” several thematic sessions took place: “The Changing World Order,” “Relations Between Russia and India in the 21st Century,” “India and Russia: Cooperation in the UN, BRIKS, SCO,” “Issues in the Near East and Afghanistan.” The summary documents of this event will be recommendations for strategic cooperation between Russia and India for the governing circles of both countries.