Modi, Putin discuss trade, Afghanistan, vow to boost relations!

NEW DELHI: India and Russia on Monday agreed to enhance cooperation and coordination on bilateral and multilateral issues, including trade and investment and the situation in Afghanistan, as the two sides signed 28 agreements during the annual summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin.

Defence cooperation, for long a key pillar of the India-Russia strategic partnership, was a prominent part of the summit and the maiden 2+2 dialogue of the defence and foreign ministers. The two sides inked an agreement on the programme for defence cooperation during 2021-31 and concluded a deal for India's procurement of more than 600,000 AK-203 assault rifles to be made a new joint venture.

Both sides have set a target of increasing bilateral trade to $30 billion and bilateral investments to $50 billion by 2025, and Modi and Putin discussed ways to enhance economic cooperation, including through long-term procurement of essential commodities from Russia, elimination of trade barriers, and connectivity options such as the International North South Trade Corridor and the Chennai-Vladivostok maritime corridor.

The two countries will also look at long-term cooperation and arrangements for energy, inland waterways, civilian shipbuilding, fertilisers, steel, coking coal, and supply of skilled manpower.

In his televised opening remarks at the summit, Modi said India-Russia friendship has 'remained a constant' despite many fundamental changes on the world stage and the two countries cooperated closely while paying attention to each other's sensitivities.

Putin, in his opening address, described India as a 'great power' and a time-tested friend, and said Russia works with India in the military-technical field 'in a way that we do not work with any of our partners'.

Modi and Putin decided to continue close consultations and coordination on the situation in Afghanistan, and foreign secretary Harsh Shringla told a media briefing the two sides will work for a peaceful, secure and stable Afghanistan with an inclusive government representing all sections of society.

'Both sides were also very clear that Afghanistan's territory should not be used for sheltering, training, planning or financing any acts of terrorism,' Shringla said. Even as the two sides coordinate on drug trafficking and other concerns emanating from Afghanistan, they will work jointly on providing humanitarian aid to the Afghan people.

There was a lot of emphasis on counterterrorism, an area of common interest, and a 'joint sense' on dealing with terrorist entities active in the neighbourhood, such as Islamic State, al Qaeda and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Shringla said. Both sides stressed the need to address cross-border terrorism, sought action against UN-designated terror groups, and called for strengthening the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the UN office for counterterrorism, he added.

A joint statement issued after the summit said: 'Both sides strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and urged the international community to intensify cooperation against terrorism including safe havens, terror financing, arms and drugs trafficking, radicalisation and malicious use of ICTs to spread extremist, terrorist and other illegal content.'

The joint statement specifically referred to Islamic State, al Qaeda and LeT in the context of preventing Afghan soil from being used for terrorist activities, and called for ensuring that 'Afghanistan would never become a safe haven for global terrorism'.

Among the 28 pacts signed by government and private entities was the 'Agreement on Program of the Military-Technical Cooperation from 2021-2031', a plan outlining ongoing and future defence cooperation. Such agreements have been signed since 1994.

Following talks between defence minister Rajnath Singh and his Russian counterpart Sergey Shoigu, a contract was signed for India procuring 601,427 AK-203 rifles through the joint venture Indo-Russian Rifles Private Limited.

The other agreements covered diverse fields such as trade, energy, intellectual property, accountancy, cyberattacks in the banking sector, manpower, geological exploration and surveys, culture and education.

Among them were a roadmap for science, technology and innovation cooperation, a memorandum of cooperation (MoU) in intellectual property, an agreement on technology protection due to cooperation in research and use of outer space for peaceful purposes and building and operation of launch vehicles and ground-based space infrastructure, an MoU between India's Opto-Electronics Factory and Rosoboronexport, and a crude oil supply agreement between Indian Oil Corporation and Rosneft.

Shringla said the two sides put off the signing of the Reciprocal Exchange of Logistics (RELOS) agreement 'for some time' as there are 'still some issues we need to discuss'. It had been expected the agreement, which will allow militaries of the two nations to access support facilities at each other's bases, would be signed during the summit.

India's dragging standoff with China on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) is understood to have figured in the 2+2 dialogue. Without naming China, defence minister Singh said in his opening remarks at the meeting that India is grappling with challenges arising from the 'extraordinary militarisation' of its neighbourhood and 'unprovoked aggression' on the northern border, and the country seeks partners who are responsive to its military requirements.

'The pandemic, the extraordinary militarisation and expansion of armament in our neighbourhood and the unprovoked aggression on our northern border since early summer of 2020 have thrown in several challenges,' Singh said.

'Recognising that its development needs are colossal and that its defence challenges are legitimate, real and immediate, India seeks partners who are sensitive and responsive to India's expectations and requirements,' he added.

Talking to the media after the 2+2 dialogue, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said the India-Russia deal for S-400 air defence systems is being implemented despite US attempts to 'undermine this cooperation'. He said the Russian side raised its concerns about 'Indo-Pacific strategies' and 'non-inclusive blocs' such as AUKUS during the talks.

Shringla told the media briefing that the 2+2 dialogue had extensively discussed the Indo-Pacific and India's security concerns. India is currently cooperating extensively with Russia in areas that involve the region, such as the Chennai-Vladivostok maritime corridor, and also extending cooperation in the Indian Ocean, he said.

Asked about possible US sanctions on the S-400 deal, Shringla said: 'I think there was a sense that the S-400 is a legacy contract going back to 2018...Supplies have begun this month and will continue to happen.' He added both India and Russia conduct an independent foreign policy and there is no 'need to look at our relationship in the light of any other relationship that is there'.