Too much should not be made of the fact that Russian President Vladimir Putin will be in India just for a day after spending three days in China. The bilateral trade between Russia and China is upwards of US$10 billion, while the bilateral trade between India and Russia is just about $1.5 billion. Russia worries about China’s rising profile in East and North-East Asia, about Chinese immigrants overrunning Siberia and about China’s economy dwarfing its own.With India there are no such concerns. Some say the India-Russia ties are like a time-tested marriage of a middle-aged couple. Too much comfort, not enough excitement. Things, however, need not remain that way. There is growing private sector business activity between the two and many buccaneering Indian entrepreneurs have become millionaires in Russia’s wild markets. That alone will not do. Hopefully, President’s Putin’s visit will encourage the more high profile Indian companies to explore market opportunities in a resurgent Russia, now clawing its way back to modest rates of economic growth. For its part, Russia too can encourage investment in India, especially in the infrastructure sector, and use its rupee resources to good effect.The fact that President Putin is coming to New Delhi from Beijing has encouraged speculation about a China-India-Russia triangle or trilateral cooperation. This is a Russian idea that China has only recently warmed up to and India is still sizing up to find out what it could gain from the arrangement. Moreover, for each of the three countries, their bilateral relationship with the United States is in fact the single most important relationship. While there can be no meaningful strategic alliance between the three Eurasian powers, it is certainly possible for the three countries to cooperate, both in fighting terrorism in the region and to enhance their individual economic prospects through cooperation in the energy sector. Russia and China have already discussed ideas about a gas and oil pipeline and there are proposals worth looking at for a Russia-China-India gas pipeline. Such are the issues that President Putin can discuss fruitfully in his day-long visit, apart from reiterating the durability of a time-tested strategic relationship. India’s friendship with Russia is no longer aimed against anyone. India would like to improve its relations with Russia as much as it desires closer bilateral relations with other major powers, especially the US and China. Russia will remain India’s major arms supplier for some time to come, even though India is actively diversifying its sources. However, it is important for both countries to renew people-to-people contact in the spheres of education, culture, sport, science, and technology. There is a huge agenda waiting to be addressed in these areas. This will also ensure that the India-Russia relationship is not just a government-to-government one but has a popular basis as well.
