- In a move likely to anger the US, Modi is visiting Russia.
- It signals strong ties between the two countries and shows that India is pursuing its own agenda.
- Modi is aiming to correct the trade imbalance and address China's Indo-Pacific activities.
In a move likely to anger the US, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting Russia on Monday for his first bilateral trip after winning a historic third term in office.
Modi's two-day visit to Russia — where he is scheduled to meet with President Vladimir Putin — is significant in that it signals strong ties between New Delhi and Moscow. It also shows the world that India is not afraid to pursue its own agenda.
Vinay Kwatra, India's foreign secretary, told reporters in New Delhi that issues between Russia and India have "piled up" and "need to be addressed," Bloomberg reported.
Russia's relationship with India goes back to the Cold War, and trade between the two countries has grown since Russia started the war in Ukraine. India is a major buyer of Russian oil. Russia is also India's biggest arms supplier.
Kwatra underscored that the two countries' trade relationship has remained "resilient."
Still, Modi's trip will "rankle many Western observers," Ved Shinde, a researcher and contributor to Australia's Lowy Institute, wrote in a note on Wednesday.
"Since the Ukraine war began, India's purchase of cheap oil from Russia has been seen as profiting from troubles in the heart of Europe," Shinde added.
Modi's visit to Russia will make the US look bad
Just like Putin's visit to supply-chain hot spot Vietnam, India's engagement with Russia isn't a good look for the US, as it comes while Washington is trying to isolate Putin.
The US has raised "some concerns" about India's relationship with Russia with New Delhi, Kurt Campbell, the US deputy secretary of state, said last month.
However, Washington acknowledges that India's ties with Russia are different from its ties with the US.
"We have many areas of alignment, but it is not surprising that there would be areas where we've had perhaps different perspectives, views, historical ties," Campbell said about America's relationship with India.
India, for its part, is looking to balance its relationship with the world's key powerbrokers: the US, Russia, and China.
"There are different degrees in India's multi-alignment. Make no mistake — the United States and its allies are more consequential for India's future than its relationship with Russia," Shinde wrote.
India needs to leverage its historical ties with Russia to secure its economy and security, so Modi isn't just in Russia for a goodwill trip.
Reducing the trade imbalance
A key agenda item for the visit is to reduce a huge bilateral trade imbalance, Kwatra said.
India imports about $60 billion of goods a year from Russia, but Russia buys less than 10% of this amount from India, Bloomberg reported.
Modi may also touch on China's activities in the Indo-Pacific region, Kwatra added.
India is trying to manage its relationship with China, which has been testy since a border dispute in 2020. Modi skipped the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Kazakhstan last week.
There's also the matter of Russia's ties with China.
At the summit last week, Putin said Russia's relationship with China is in the "best period in history."
Modi now needs to cozy up to Putin to counter China's advances.
"The reason for the time-tested stability in India-Russia ties is to maintain a continental balance in the Eurasian heartland. That is, to balance China," Shinde wrote.
"Or to put it another way, don't go around making new adversaries when there are already two open fronts — China and Pakistan," he added.