Overview

• India’s foreign ministry and Russia’s ambassador publicly marked the 25th anniversary of the 2000 strategic partnership on October 3.
• New Delhi describes the relationship as a special and privileged strategic partnership and signals plans to deepen ties across trade, defence, investment, and science and technology.
• Diplomats highlight ongoing EAEU–India free trade talks as a potential accelerator for projects and for meeting the leaders’ $100 billion bilateral trade target by 2030.
• Officials cite long-running cooperation in nuclear energy, defence, space and education, with new focus areas including small modular reactors, railways, shipbuilding, aircraft, trade corridors, Arctic research, labour mobility, and innovation programs such as Sirius and Atal Innovation Mission.
• Sources say dates are being finalised for a New Delhi summit expected later this year, with reports that Sergey Lavrov may visit first and that Vladimir Putin praised Narendra Modi and the ‘special’ ties at the Valdai forum.