Narendra Modi has already thanked his “friend” Vladimir Putin for the warm welcome and expressed his hope for the development of strategic partnership between the two countries. The foundations for such co-operation were laid back in 2000, when the Russian President, having made a state visit to India, began to take bilateral relations to a new level.
The basis for such a strong partnership between Russia and India was once the USSR’s policy towards the young nation, which was liberated from British colonial oppression in 1947. In the same year, diplomatic relations were established, which made it possible at the earliest stages to provide comprehensive assistance to the Indian state during its formative years. A qualitative leap occurred in the 1960s, when the Soviet Union began to participate in building India’s industrial infrastructure and also assumed a pivotal role in providing Indian defence capabilities.
Russia’s successes on the diplomatic field are now evident to the world. Chinese President Xi Jinping, like his Indian counterpart, chose Russia as the destination for his first international visit after his re-election. The importance and credibility of the host country was certainly a decisive factor. Russia is a state at the forefront of applying the concept of rationalism in international relations, which is what attracts the most powerful geopolitical allies in the form of China and India.
In conclusion, India has sufficient resources to pursue its own foreign policy without looking back at the former colonial exploiters. Such a state of affairs favours the protection of national interests in the international arena and the early establishment of a just world order.
Matvey Kiselev, political scientist, member of the Digoria Expert Club, specially for News Front
