{"id":4437,"date":"2019-09-15T22:06:10","date_gmt":"2019-09-15T16:36:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/?p=4437"},"modified":"2019-09-15T22:06:10","modified_gmt":"2019-09-15T16:36:10","slug":"modi-putin-summit-the-big-picture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/modi-putin-summit-the-big-picture\/","title":{"rendered":"Modi-Putin Summit: \u2018The Big Picture\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Relevance: Mains: Current affairs analysis<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em><u>Context: <\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the\u00a0<strong>5<sup>th<\/sup><\/strong>\u00a0<strong>Eastern Economic Forum (EEF),\u00a0<\/strong>held in\u00a0<strong>Vladivostok, Russia,<\/strong>\u00a0as the chief guest.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li>He also held a meeting with the Russian President Vladimir Putin at the\u00a0<strong>20<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0Annual India-Russia Summit<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>The importance of India-Russia relations is underlined by the invitation of the Indian PM as the chief guest of EEF. The meetings are vital for the\u00a0<strong>reinvigoration of partnership<\/strong>\u00a0between India and Russia.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em><u>Past meetings<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>This is the 3rd time Modi and Putin are meeting in 2019.<\/li>\n<li>They had an informal summit at Sochi (May, 2019). They also met on the sidelines of the SCO summit held in Bishkek (June, 2019).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em><u>Current Status of India-Russia Relations:<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Defence Sector:<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li>India and Russia have impressive cooperation in the defence sector. India has signed agreements to purchase the\u00a0<strong>S400\u00a0<\/strong>missile system and\u00a0<strong>Kamov 226T<\/strong>\u00a0Helicopters from Russia.<\/li>\n<li>At present, the cooperation has transformed from\u00a0<strong>equipment<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>purchase<\/strong>\u00a0to\u00a0<strong>joint development<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>and production<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>The Ordnance Factory in Amethi is making\u00a0<strong>AK 230 Kalashnikov<\/strong>\u00a0rifles under the \u2018<strong>Make in India\u2019<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>The\u00a0<strong>BrahMos<\/strong>\u00a0missile has been developed as a joint venture between India and Russia.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Su-57E,\u00a0<\/strong>a fifth generation fighter aircraft is being considered for a joint development in India and Russia.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Energy Sector:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Bilateral investment in the energy sector has grown significantly in the last ten years.<\/li>\n<li>Russia has\u00a0<strong>$13 billion<\/strong>\u00a0investment in the oil sector of India, including the acquisition of \u2018Essar Oil\u2019. India has\u00a0<strong>$10 billion<\/strong>\u00a0investment in Russia.<\/li>\n<li>Russia is the largest\u00a0<strong>nuclear energy<\/strong>\u00a0partner of India. Russia has set up 6 reactors (total capacity of 7200 MW) in the\u00a0<strong>Kudankulam<\/strong>\u00a0nuclear power plant.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Economic Sector:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The traditional areas of economic cooperation between the two countries are\u00a0<strong>pharmaceuticals, fertilizers, energy<\/strong>, etc.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ruble-Rupee trade arrangement<\/strong>\u00a0was introduced to reduce the dependency on dollars in India-Russia trade. It was particularly vital after sanctions were issued against Russia by US and European countries.<\/li>\n<li>A team led by India\u2019s\u00a0<strong>Minister of Commerce and Industries<\/strong>\u00a0comprising of more than 150 businessmen and four\u00a0<strong>Chief Ministers<\/strong>\u00a0(of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat, and Goa) had visited Russia in August 2019.<\/li>\n<li>They signed a number of\u00a0<strong>Memorandums of Understanding<\/strong>\u00a0(MoU) with Russian counterparts.<\/li>\n<li>Government schemes like\u00a0<strong>Skill India<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0<strong>Make in India<\/strong>\u00a0have the potential to attract more investment from Russia.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em><u>India-Russia Relations in the Present Regional Context:<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Concerns:<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Russia-Pakistan<\/strong>\u00a0relation is getting stronger.<\/li>\n<li>India was\u00a0<strong>not invited<\/strong>\u00a0to the 1<sup>st<\/sup>\u00a0meeting of the\u00a0<strong>Afghan peace process<\/strong>\u00a0organized by Russia. India had to carry out a\u00a0<strong>diplomatic protest<\/strong>\u00a0against it.<\/li>\n<li>Russia is willing to have limited engagement with\u00a0<strong>Taliban<\/strong>\u00a0in the Afghan peace process. But India does not support the idea.<\/li>\n<li>India has articulated an\u00a0<strong>Indo Pacific policy<\/strong>\u00a0to take advantage of that region. But, Russia still prefers the term\u00a0<strong>Asia Pacific<\/strong>\u00a0over Indo Pacific.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Positive Aspects and the Way Forward:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Even though the Russia-Pakistan relation is growing stronger, Russia continues to be a supporter of India in matters like revoking the special status of\u00a0<strong>Jammu &amp;<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>Kashmir<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>In the context of the\u00a0<strong>US<\/strong>\u2019 plan to withdraw its troops from\u00a0<strong>Afghanistan<\/strong>, the burden of\u00a0<strong>establishing peace<\/strong>\u00a0in the region falls on the regional powers, i.e., India and Russia.<\/li>\n<li>India and Russia need to\u00a0<strong>leverage their friendship<\/strong>\u00a0to solve the differences and talk about common interests in the\u00a0<strong>Indo Pacific region<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em><u>What are the Impacts of the Changing Global Scenario on India-Russia Relations?<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>At present, every nation has its own national, regional and global interests and trajectories.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li>All nations are engaging with multiple partners through a\u00a0<strong>multi-vector foreign policy<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Earlier, Russia was suspended from the\u00a0<strong>G8\u00a0<\/strong>after the Crimea crisis. After that, the group is being called G7.\n<ul>\n<li>Recently, at the\u00a0<strong>G7 summit<\/strong>, US President Trump openly invited Russia to rejoin the group.<\/li>\n<li>However,\u00a0<strong>other members<\/strong>\u00a0of the G7 are\u00a0<strong>not agreeing<\/strong>\u00a0to this demand of Trump.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Isolation from western countries is making Russia move\u00a0<strong>closer to China<\/strong>.\n<ul>\n<li>Russia is a partner of the\u00a0<strong>Belt and Road Initiative<\/strong>\u00a0of China (BRI). But, India has remained outside the BRI scheme.<\/li>\n<li>In spite of the growing relations, Russia is\u00a0<strong>anxious<\/strong>\u00a0about China getting into domains exclusively held by Russia.<\/li>\n<li>China has growing economic and military presence in\u00a0<strong>Central Asia,<\/strong>\u00a0and the people of the\u00a0<strong>Far East region\u00a0<\/strong>of Russia have concerns regarding Chinese investment and military presence across the border.<\/li>\n<li>It is also one of the reasons Putin has invited investments from other countries.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>There is a perception, especially among Russia that\u00a0<strong>India is moving closer\u00a0to the USA\u00a0<\/strong>and European countries.\n<ul>\n<li>But India\u2019s cooperation with the USA is\u00a0<strong>not intended against Russia<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>It is a strategic move necessitated by the Chinese assertiveness in the Indian Ocean.<\/li>\n<li>China has been increasing its political, economic and military presence in the region.<\/li>\n<li>Further, the cooperation between India and the US has its own concerns due to the unpredictable nature of the US President.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em><u>What is the Need for Redefining India-Russia Strategic Relations?<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Due to the\u00a0<strong>isolation by the western countries<\/strong>, Russia can\u2019t expect a western ally to balance China.<\/li>\n<li>Hence they are looking for\u00a0<strong>India\u2019s cooperation<\/strong>\u00a0for the same.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Finance and human resources<\/strong>\u00a0from India need to be relocated to Russia to balance the Chinese presence.<\/li>\n<li>At the same time, India finds the embrace between\u00a0<strong>Russia and China<\/strong>\u00a0a\u00a0<strong>challenge<\/strong>\u00a0to her interests. India wants to see them in a relatively dissociated position.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li>But, India need not be unnecessarily worried because the reasons behind Russia and China partnership is not related to India. E.g. they share a very long\u00a0<strong>land border<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Further, their relationship has been going through a number of\u00a0<strong>ups and downs<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>There are several areas where\u00a0<strong>India, Russia and China<\/strong>\u00a0have\u00a0<strong>common concerns<\/strong>. E.g.,\u00a0<strong>cross border terrorism, Afghan crisis<\/strong>, etc.<\/li>\n<li>The three countries should build on these\u00a0<strong>areas of convergence<\/strong>\u00a0by forming trilateral working groups.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em><u>How can India and Russia take the Relations in Nuclear Energy and Defence Sectors to the Next Level?<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Concerns:<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li>At around $9 billion, India-Russia bilateral trade is very less. It has declined from the earlier value of $10 billion. Such lower trade volume would not push the relations further.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Sanctions against Russia<\/strong>\u00a0by US and European countries after the\u00a0<strong>Crimea crisis<\/strong>\u00a0and the recent global economic slowdown has worsened the situation.<\/li>\n<li>Russian investment in \u2018Make in India\u2019 can be upgraded.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Way Forward:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>India needs to get out of the traditional dimensions of cooperation (<strong>nuclear energy and defence<\/strong>) and move forward to new avenues like\u00a0<strong>trade and oil &amp; gas.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Maritime connectivity<\/strong>\u00a0could be increased by a sea lane connecting\u00a0<strong>Chennai and Vladivostok<\/strong>. The lane can be extended to\u00a0<strong>Europe<\/strong>\u00a0via the Northern Sea route and the Arctic Ocean.<\/li>\n<li>India should accept the invitation of Russia regarding new opportunities in\u00a0<strong>Far East Russia.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Within the defence sector, the\u00a0<strong>infrastructure<\/strong>\u00a0available at Visakhapatnam and other ports can be used for manufacturing\u00a0<strong>naval ships and other military equipment<\/strong>\u00a0using Russian technology.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em><u>Cooperation in Far East Russia<\/u><\/em><\/strong><em><u>:<\/u><\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The Far East region of Russia ranges from\u00a0<strong>Siberia to the Pacific Ocean<\/strong>. It is more than\u00a0<strong>6 million km<sup>2<\/sup><\/strong>\u00a0in area (almost twice as big as India).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li>But the population is only around 8 million due to a severe cold climate.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>The region is rich in\u00a0<strong>oil &amp; gas, minerals, diamonds<\/strong>, etc.<\/li>\n<li>It has huge potential in\u00a0<strong>farming, fishing, and tourism<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Russia has been trying to develop the region, particularly after the formation of EEF in 2015.<\/li>\n<li>The Far East region of Russia is close to \u2018Indo Pacific\u2019, where India and other countries have growing interests.<\/li>\n<li>India wants to increase her presence in Far East Russia.<\/li>\n<li>Earlier, Russian Deputy Prime Minister in charge of the development of the region had visited India.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em><u>Outcomes of the Indian PM\u2019s Visit to Russia:<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that India and Russia are\u00a0<strong>against \u2018outside influence\u2019<\/strong>\u00a0in the\u00a0<strong>internal matters<\/strong>\u00a0of any nation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li>His remarks came against the backdrop of growing tension between\u00a0<strong>India and Pakistan<\/strong>\u00a0after India revoked\u00a0<strong>Jammu and Kashmir\u2019s special status<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Russia has backed India\u2019s move on Jammu and Kashmir while Pakistan is trying to internationalize the issue.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>The Indian PM also unveiled the \u2018<strong>Act Far East\u2019 policy\u00a0<\/strong>to boost India\u2019s engagement with Far East Russia. India announced a\u00a0<strong>$1 billion line of credit<\/strong>\u00a0for the development of the region.<\/li>\n<li>The two leaders discussed ways to bolster\u00a0<strong>cooperation<\/strong>\u00a0in trade, investment, oil &amp; gas, mining, nuclear energy, defence, air and maritime connectivity, transport infrastructure, technology, outer space, and people-to-people ties.<\/li>\n<li>The two sides signed 15 agreements in areas such as defence, air and maritime connectivity, natural gas, petroleum and trade.<\/li>\n<li>A proposal has been made to introduce a full-fledged maritime route between\u00a0<strong>Chennai and Vladivostok.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Russia has offered India a proposal for joint design and development of\u00a0<strong>conventional submarines<\/strong>\u00a0along with full access to technology and\u00a0<strong>Intellectual Property Rights<\/strong>\u00a0(IPR).<\/li>\n<li>Russia expressed its support for India\u2019s candidature for a\u00a0<strong>permanent membership in the UNSC<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>They also agreed to focus on increasing the effectiveness of\u00a0<strong>Shanghai Cooperation Organization- Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure<\/strong>\u00a0(SCO-RATS) in countering terrorism, extremism, drug trafficking, cross-border organized crime, and information security threats.<\/li>\n<li>PM Modi said that Russia will help\u00a0<strong>train Indian astronauts for Gaganyaan<\/strong>, India\u2019s manned space mission.<\/li>\n<li>Both sides expressed their concern over the possibility of an\u00a0<strong>arms race in outer space<\/strong>\u00a0and advocated peaceful uses of outer space. Also read:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/byjus.com\/free-ias-prep\/militarisation-of-space-upsc-notes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Militarisation Of Space<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Russia expressed its strong support for India\u2019s membership in the\u00a0<strong>Nuclear Suppliers Group<\/strong>\u00a0(NSG).<\/li>\n<li>The two sides also expressed their support for an\u00a0<strong>Afghan-led and Afghan-owned<\/strong>\u00a0peace process in Afghanistan.<\/li>\n<li>They reaffirmed their commitment to build an equal and indivisible\u00a0<strong>security architecture<\/strong>\u00a0in Asia and the Pacific region.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em><u>Conclusion:<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Both India and Russia realize that their partnership remains\u00a0<strong>steadfast, stable and time-tested<\/strong>. But the strategic relations have been perceived to have stuck in a time warp and lost the significance it used to have. India and Russia need to\u00a0<strong>take forward<\/strong>\u00a0the progress in their partnership imparted by the meetings held at Vladivostok.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Relevance: Mains: Current affairs analysis Context: The Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the\u00a05th\u00a0Eastern Economic Forum (EEF),\u00a0held in\u00a0Vladivostok, Russia,\u00a0as the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4359,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[123,18],"tags":[392],"class_list":["post-4437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current-affairs","category-general-studies-ii","tag-union-public-service-commission-upsc"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4437"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4437\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4438,"href":"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4437\/revisions\/4438"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4359"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}