India-Russia Bilateral Brief
Russia has been a longstanding and time-tested partner for India. Development of India-Russia relations has been a key pillar of India's foreign policy. Since the signing of the “Declaration on the India-Russia Strategic Partnership” in October 2000 (during the visit of President Putin), India-Russia ties have acquired a qualitatively new character with enhanced levels of cooperation in almost all areas, including political, security, defence, trade and economy, science & technology, culture, and people-to-people ties. During the visit of the Russian President to India in December 2010, the Strategic Partnership was elevated to the level of “Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership.”
2. Under the Strategic Partnership, several institutionalized dialogue mechanisms operate at both political and official levels to ensure regular interaction and follow-up on cooperation activities. The India-Russia Intergovernmental Commission (IRIGC) has two divisions – the Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC) co-chaired by the External Affairs Minister (EAM) from India and First Deputy Prime Minister (First DPM) Mr. Denis Manturov from Russia; and the Military & Military-Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-M&MTC) headed by the Defence Ministers of the two countries. In December 2021, a new dimension to the bilateral cooperation was added with the first 2+2 Dialogue (Foreign and Defence Ministers of both countries) taking place alongside the Summit-level talks between Prime Minister & President of Russia Mr. Vladimir Putin.
Political relations
3. The Annual Summit between the Prime Minister of India and the President of the Russian Federation is the highest institutionalized dialogue mechanism in the strategic partnership between India and Russia. So far, 22 Annual Summits have taken place alternatively in India and Russia. The last Summit was held on July 8-9, 2024 in Moscow. Following the Summit, a Joint Statement titled “India-Russia: Enduring and Expanding Partnership” was released. A separate leaders’ Joint Statement on the development of strategic areas of India-Russia economic cooperation for the period up to 2030 was also released apart from the signing of 9 MoUs/Agreements. During the visit, Prime Minister was conferred upon Russia’s highest state decoration, the Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle the First-Called, for Prime Minister's outstanding contribution to India-Russia ties. Later in the year, Prime Minister met President Putin on 22 October 2024 on the margins of the BRICS Summit in Kazan in Russia. The leaders also maintain regular contact through telephone conversations. The last time that they spoke was on 05 May 2025 in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack. A total of four telephone conversations took place in 2024 (15 January, 20 March, 05 June and 27 August), two in 2023 (30 June 30 and 28 August) and five in 2022.
4. Both countries remain in regular contact at Ministerial level. EAM & Foreign Minister Mr. Sergey Lavrov last met on 20 February 2025 on the sidelines of G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting in Johannesburg. Their last telephone conversation was on 02 May 2025, when FM Lavrov called to express his condolence over the heinous Pahalgam terror attack. The Ministers met three times in 2024 (25 Sept in New York, 09 Sept in Riyadh and 03 July in Astana). During his visit to Russia in December 2023, EAM had called on President Putin and met with FM Lavrov and DPM Manturov.
5. Raksha Mantri (RM) Shri Rajnath Singh visited Russia from 08-10 December 2024 to co-chair the 21st Session of the IRIGC-M&MTC meeting in Moscow. RM also called on President Putin during the visit. Raksha Rajya Mantri (RRM) Shri Sanjay Seth represented India for the 09 May 2025 Victory Day celebrations in Moscow on the occasion of 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War (1941-45). NSA visited St. Petersburg in September 2024 to attend the BRICS NSAs meeting. During the visit, NSA called on President Putin and met his counterpart Secretary of the Russian Security Council Mr. Sergei Shoigu.
6. Foreign Secretary Shri Vikram Misri held bilateral Foreign Office Consultations with his Russian counterpart Deputy Foreign Minister (DFM) Andrey Rudenko on 07 March 2025 in Moscow. In December 2024, Secretary (West) Shri Tanmaya Lal met DFM Sergey Vershinin for the sixth India-Russia Consultations on UN Matters and 13th India-Russia Working Group meeting on Counter Terrorism.
Trade and Economic Cooperation
7. The primary mechanism at the government level for enhancing trade and economic cooperation is the India-Russia Intergovernmental Commission for Trade, Economic, Scientific & Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC), co-chaired by EAM from the Indian side and First DPM Denis Manturov from the Russian side. The 25th session of the IRIGC-TEC was held on 12 November 2024 in New Delhi. During his visit, First DPM Manturov called on the Prime Minister and also met with Finance Minister and NSA.
8. Intensifying the trade and economic relations has been identified as a priority area by both the leaders who had set the targets of increasing bilateral investment to $50 billion (by 2025) and bilateral trade to $100 billion (by 2030). Bilateral trade between India and Russia reached a record high of USD 68.7 billion in FY 2024-25. It comprises India’s exports worth USD 4.9 billion and imports from Russia amounting to USD 63.8 billion. Major items of export from India include pharmaceuticals, organic and inorganic chemicals, iron & steel and marine products, while major items of import from Russia include oil and petroleum products, vegetable oil (particularly sunflower oil), fertilizers, coking coal, precious stones and metals. Russia’s Minister of Energy Mr. Sergey Tsivilyov visited India in February 2025 and met Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Shri Hardeep Singh Puri; and Russian side led by Deputy Minister of Energy Mr. Pavel Sorokin participated in the India Energy Week 2025.
9. Bilateral trade in services has remained stable during the last few years. It amounted to $1.021 billion for the year 2021. Bilateral investments between the two countries remain strong with a target of $50 billion investment by 2025. The major bilateral investments by Russia in India are in the oil and gas, petrochemicals, banking, railways and steel sectors, while Indian investments in Russia are mainly in oil and gas and pharmaceuticals sectors.
Defence cooperation:
10. India has longstanding and wide-ranging cooperation with Russia in the field of defence. India-Russia military technical cooperation has evolved from a buyer-seller framework to one involving joint research, development and production of advanced defence technologies and systems. RM and Russian Defence Minister co-chair the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military & Military-Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-M&MTC). The 21st Session of the IRIGC-MMTC co-chaired by Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh and Russian Defence Minister Mr. Andrey Belousov was held in Moscow on 8-10 December 2024. During the visit, Raksha Mantri also called on President Putin. INS Tushil was commissioned into Indian Navy in the presence of RM at the Yantar Shipyard in Kaliningrad on 9 December 2024.
11. On 28 Mar-02 Apr 2025, the bilateral Naval Exercise INDRA 2025 between Indian and Russian navies was conducted in two phases – Harbour phase at Chennai and Sea phase in Bay of Bengal. The exercise saw participation of Russian Naval Ships Pechanga, Rezkiy and Aldar Tsydenzhapov along with Indian Naval Ships Rana, Kuthar and maritime patrol aircraft P8I. Stealth Frigate INS Tabar called at St Petersburg from 25-30 July 2024 to participate in the Main naval Parade on 328th Russia Navy Day celebrations. Two Russian ships – Varyag and Marshal Shaposhnikov – participated in the MILAN 2024 exercise in India.
Parliamentary Cooperation:
12. The Inter-Parliamentary Commission, between the Lok Sabha and the Russian State Duma (lower house), has played a key role in facilitating parliamentary cooperation. It has met five times since its inception (2000, 2003, 2015, 2017, 2018). The Commission is co-chaired by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and the Chairperson of the State Duma. The 5th India-Russia Inter Parliamentary Commission was held in India on 09 December 2018.
13. Chairman of the State Duma (Russia’s lower house of Parliament) Mr. Vyacheslav Volodin paid an official visit to India from 02-04 Feb 2025. During the visit, Mr. Volodin called on President and Vice President and had bilateral meeting with the Lok Sabha Speaker. The Russian delegation attended the then ongoing 2025 budget session of both Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha. In July 2024, Lok Sabha Speaker Shri Om Birla led the Indian delegation for the 10th BRICS Parliamentary Forum in Saint Petersburg and also had bilateral meetings with Chairman Volodin and Speaker of the Russian Federation Council (Upper House of Parliament) Ms. Valentina Matvienko.
14. In the context of Pahalgam terror attack and India’s Operation Sindoor, an all-party delegation led by Ms. Kanimozhi Karunanidhi comprising 5 Member of Parliaments (MPs) and senior diplomat Ambassador Manjeev Puri visited Russia from 22-24 May 2025 to project India’s united resolve and zero-tolerance approach towards terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
Science & Technology Cooperation:
15. Science & Technology has played a key role in the bilateral India-Russia partnership, especially in the early days after India’s independence. Today, India & Russia work together on basic sciences, materials science, mathematics and cutting-edge areas like India’s manned spaceflight program (Gaganyaan), nanotechnologies etc. India’s only nuclear power plant established with another country is in Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu which is established in collaboration with Russia. The bilateral cooperation is guided by the new roadmap for Science, Technology & Innovation signed during the 21st Annual Summit in New Delhi in December 2021. It is expected to boost innovation-related engagements between the two countries and focus on commercialization of technologies and full-cycle support for joint projects of economic and societal impact. Meetings of the Russia-India Working Group on Science and Technology, with representatives of the relevant ministries, universities and scientists of both countries, take place regularly under the IRIGC-TEC mechanism.
Education:
16. Cooperation between India and Russia in the field of education is multifaceted and longstanding in nature. The creation of various mechanisms and conclusion of relevant documents has enabled healthy interaction at the official level apart from the ongoing direct engagement between institutes and universities in India and Russia. One of the most visible aspects of this cooperation is the presence of Indian students in Russian institutes for courses in disciplines such as medicine, engineering, economics, sciences and other subjects. Medical students comprise the largest group among Indian students studying in Russia. Separately, Indology is taught in several Russian universities apart from Indian languages such as Hindi and Sanskrit. At the school-level, the Atal Innovation Mission of India and SIRIUS Center work together as part of an initiative envisioned by Prime Minister and President Putin. In context of collaboration in higher education including between universities/institutes, the following main mechanisms are playing an active role - Educational Exchange Programme (EEP) between the two governments, Network of Higher Education Institutions of India and Russia (known as the RIN), Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC), and the Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN) programme.
Cultural Cooperation:
17. India and Russia have deep and historic cultural linkages. Various writers, philosophers, thinkers and artists have mutual influence on each other’s art, culture and societies. The Jawaharlal Nehru Cultural Centre (JNCC), Moscow, maintains close cooperation with leading Russian institutions. A number of Russian universities and institutions, teach Indian languages. Indian cinema which was especially popular in the Soviet period has continued to do so with screenings in most major cities and urban centers. Yoga is also immensely popular across Russia.
18. Russia’s Minister of Culture Ms. Olga Lyubimova visited India for the World Audio Visual & Entertainment Summit 2025 (WAVES 2025) in Mumbai in May 2025 and had a meeting with Minister of Information and Broadcasting Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw discussing bilateral cooperation in cinematography.
Diaspora & people-to-people ties:
19. The people-to-people ties remain strong with gradual increase in bilateral tourism. The facility of e-visas for both countries has helped accelerate this process. Prominent Indians have been conferred Russian state awards for their contribution to building and strengthening Russia-India political, scientific and cultural ties.
Multilateral cooperation:
20. India and Russia cooperate closely at several multilateral platforms such as the UN, G20, BRICS & SCO. This cooperation has been strengthened further through regular exchanges and mutual support during India’s Presidencies of the G20 and SCO in 2023 and Russia’s BRICS Presidency in 2024. Russia has consistently expressed support for India’s candidature for a permanent seat the UN Security Council. PM led the Indian delegation for the XVI BRICS Summit held in Kazan, Russia, in October 2024.
Conclusion:
21. The bilateral relationship has remained strong and stable over the past 78 years. The India-Russia partnership has been among the steadiest in the contemporary era with a shared commitment to a multipolar world as well to expand the engagement beyond the traditional military, nuclear and space cooperation. In the past two years, the bilateral trade has expanded significantly. There are discussions on ways to increase exports from India as well developing new models of cooperation. Both countries are also looking to strengthen inter-regional cooperation, especially with the Russian Far East and promote connectivity initiatives like the International North-South Transport Corridor, the Chennai-Vladivostok Eastern Maritime Corridor and the Northern Sea Route. There is a synergy between Russia’s pivot to the East, its resources and technology and India’s own flagship initiatives such as Atmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India.
June 2025
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