International North South Transport Corridor

Another major project involving India, Iran, the Central Asian Republics, Russia, and the larger Eurasian region. The project is also known as the Mumbai-Moscow link, and the signed agreement is known as the Ashgabat Agreement and International North-South Transit Corridor Project. 

It classifies the construction and improvement of shipping lanes, railway, roadway projects, and maritime connectivity between nations. India’s goods and services will find new markets, which should be concentratedly pursued.

India Russian Relations

1. Russia has been India’s long-term and trusted ally. India’s foreign policy has been heavily influenced by the development of its relations with Russia. 
2. It has been more than a decade since President Putin’s visit in October 2000, when he signed a “Declaration on a Strategic Partnership between India and Russia,” that the two countries’ relationships have taken on a new character with increased cooperation in nearly every area of the bilateral relationship. 
3. The Strategic Partnership has a number of formalised discussion structures in place to enable continuous communication and follow-up on cooperative efforts at both the political and official levels. 
4. The Strategic Partnership was promoted to “Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership” during the Russian President’s visit to India in December 2010.

Bilateral Trade Between India and Russia

1. Priority is being given by both countries’ political authorities to boosting bilateral trade and investment to $50 billion and $30 billion respectively by 2025, both of which have recently been revised upwards.
2. An estimated USD 8.1 billion in bilateral trade occurred between April 2020 and March 2021, according to data from India. Exports from India totaled USD 2.6 billion, while Russian imports totaled USD 5.48 billion. 

Defense Relations with Russia

1. India and Russia’s strategic partnership relies heavily on military cooperation. As of now, it is directed by the Program for Military Technical Cooperation between the two nations, which is in effect through 2020. BrahMos is joint venture between India’s Defence Research and Development Organization and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyenia is headquartered in New Delhi, India. The venture is named after two rivers in this company’s name—the Indian Brahmaputra and the Russian Moskva.
2. By signing this agreement, the two countries formally declare their commitment to advancing and deepening their military and technical cooperation in the areas of weapon systems research and development, production, and maintenance. 
3. Military personnel and exercises are also exchanged on a regular basis between the two countries.

Cooperation with Central Asia: 

The Central Asian Republics are a group of five countries that started spreading from the Caspian Sea region to China in the east and Russia in the north. Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan are among them.

1. The primary goal of cooperation with these countries is military matters, energy cooperation, trade, connectivity projects and strengthening India Russia Trade Relations. 
2. The region is essential for a better developed India and in the same context, India and the Central Asian Republics recently held the second conference, which took place in October 2020. During the conference, India pledged $1 billion for projects in connectivity, energy, information technology, agriculture, health care, and education, among other areas.
3. India has also committed to fund a number of high-impact community development projects.

International North South Transport Corridor

1. There are three main modes of transport on this route: seaborne transportation (by ship and rail), as well as land transportation (through road and truck). In order to improve trade between major cities like Mumbai, Moscow, Tehran, and Baku, as well as Bandar Abbas, Astrakhan, and Bandar Anzali, the corridor’s goal is to be built. 
2. In 2014, dry runs were carried out on two routes: Mumbai to Baku via Bandar Abbas and Mumbai to Astrakhan via Bandar Abbas, Tehran, and Bandar Anzali. The study’s goal was to identify and address the most significant bottlenecks. 
3. Transport expenses were lowered by “$2,500 every 15 tonnes of goods,” according to the study’s findings. Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan are also on the table as possible detours.

Conclusion:

The International North-South Transit Corridor Project will open up new markets for Indian goods and services, which should be pursued actively. To summarise, India, as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and aspiring permanent member, should play a larger role in the Central Asian and Eastern European regions.