'India-Russia summit a success as cooperation expands beyond defence, energy'

The 23rd India-Russia Annual summit held on Friday can be seen as a "success" as the two nations expanded cooperation beyond traditional areas such as defence, oil and nuclear energy, according to Foreign Affairs Expert Robinder Sachdev, noting that the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin, after four years, to the country also marked a pivotal shift in the bilateral agenda.
Speaking to reporters following the summit, during which Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Putin held discussions on the whole gamut of bilateral ties going beyond just defence and energy, Sachdev said the outcomes of the summit reflected a significant broadening of priorities for both nations in the ever-changing global landscape.
"The press conference and the overall summit today were an outstanding success. The reason I call it a success is for the first time, Russia and India have moved beyond discussions only on defence, oil, and nuclear and have entered other areas of cooperation, which are much needed between Russia and India, such as mobility, payment systems, and food standards," he said.
According to Sachdev, both sides are now seeking to diversify and balance their economic engagement, noting the volatility of the global economic condition, particularly US tariffs.
"What Russia and India need today is to balance their trade and economic relations and expand the scope of their engagement across multiple sectors," he added.
According to the joint statement issued following the summit, New Delhi and Moscow agreed to deepen economic cooperation with a strong focus on trade expansion, mobility and agriculture. Both sides advanced plans to strengthen logistics and transport corridors, including the International North-South Transport Corridor and the Chennai-Vladivostok route, to improve the mobility of goods and people.
They also welcomed steps to ensure long-term fertiliser supplies to India. They discussed joint ventures in the agriculture and fertiliser sectors, supported by a new MoU with JSC UralChem, Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers Limited, National Fertilisers Limited, and Indian Potash Limited.
Trade and investment opportunities in the Russian Far East, particularly in agriculture, mining and maritime transport, were also highlighted as priority areas for expanded collaboration.
Sachdev described the summit as a "base camp" that addressed several outstanding issues that have been slowing bilateral progress.
"The summit was a base camp in the sense that Russia and India together tackled most of the outstanding issues that are handicapping and posing hurdles to our faster, wider economic cooperation. Therefore, I find this summit to be a success in terms of preparation, preparing the road and ground for much higher summits," the expert added.
The summit, held during President Putin's two-day state visit to India, the first in four years, has been viewed as an essential step in strengthening the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two nations.