On Monday, Russia and India signed a flurry of trade and arms deals. The pacts come amid President Vladimir Putin’s visit to New Delhi for talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The two countries decided to reinforce their ties with a military and technical cooperation pact until 2031. They have also resolved to augment their annual trade to US$ 30 billion by 2025.
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One of the arms deals will see India produce more than 600,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles. India will also continue to produce AK-203 assault rifles. Russia, on its part, said that it was interested in continuing to provide S-400 air defense missile systems. Among other things, the two world leaders also spoke about the situation in Afghanistan, voicing their commitment to ensure that the country will never become a safe haven for international terrorism. PM Modi said, “2021 is also special for our Strategic Partnership. Today was the inaugural meeting of the 2+2 dialogue between our Foreign and Defence Ministers. This has started a new mechanism to enhance our practical cooperation”.
In addition to these arms deals, India’s Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said the two countries had signed 28 investment pacts. These entail deals on steel, shipbuilding, coal and energy. A memorandum of understanding was inked for Russia to send an uninterrupted supply of coal to India to support its steel production, among other deals. Russian oil company Rosneft sealed a deal with Indian Oil to supply up to 2 million tons of oil to India by the end of 2022.
Russia also stated that it was interested in continuing to provide S-400 air defense missile systems. Russia’s growing military proximity with India is a cause of concern for the USA. The US, also a key Indian ally, has expressed reservations about the growing military cooperation between Moscow and New Delhi.
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