India, Russia mark 25 years strategic partnership
New Delhi
India and Russia on Friday marked 25 years of their Strategic Partnership, first formalised on October 3, 2000, by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russian Ambassador Denis Alipov said the partnership has grown strongly, adapting to global changes and expanding cooperation in multiple fields.
Alipov noted the agreement transformed bilateral relations, fostering close collaboration on peace, security, and development, as well as in economic, cultural, educational, and technological sectors. “This milestone marks a renewal of our historically friendly and mutually beneficial relations in a globalising, multipolar world,” he said.
Highlighting 2025 as a year of deep exchanges, Alipov pointed to robust leader-level dialogue, including at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin. He confirmed a forthcoming India-Russia bilateral summit in New Delhi later this year, coinciding with the 15th anniversary of their upgraded “special and privileged” partnership.
He listed achievements in defence, energy security, nuclear power, space exploration, science, education, and people-to-people ties. Emerging areas include small modular nuclear reactors, railways, shipbuilding, aircraft construction, trade corridors, Arctic research, and labour mobility. Initiatives under the Sirius Educational Foundation and Atal Innovation Mission were cited as symbols of innovative collaboration.
Alipov emphasised ongoing Free Trade Agreement talks between India and the Eurasian Economic Union, saying its conclusion could raise bilateral trade to US$100 billion by 2030, as envisioned by Presidents Putin and Modi in 2024. He described the partnership as “a dynamic journey of shared vision and evolving cooperation.”
