23rd India–Russia Annual Summit 2025: Key Outcomes

23rd India–Russia Annual Summit 2025: Key Outcomes

• In December 2025, the 23rd India–Russia Annual Summit, held in New Delhi.
• The meeting coincided with the 25th anniversary of the 2000 Declaration on Strategic Partnership, a framework elevated in 2010 to a “Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership.”
• At a time of shifting global geopolitics, strained India–US ties, the prolonged Ukraine crisis, and Russia’s growing dependence on Asian partners, the summit gained unusual political and diplomatic weight.

A Comprehensive Roadmap: Economic Programme 2030

• One of the most consequential outcomes was the adoption of the “Programme for the Development of Strategic Areas of India–Russia Economic Cooperation till 2030.”
• The document seeks to broaden the economic relationship, which has long been dominated by defence and hydrocarbons, into more diversified sectors.
  Key Economic Commitments
• $100 billion bilateral trade target by 2030, up from $68.7 billion in 2024–25.
• Agreement to fast-track FTA negotiations between India and the Eurasian Economic Union, aimed at easing the flow of goods and services.
• Expansion of bilateral settlement mechanisms using national currencies, interoperability of payment systems, and even cooperation on central bank digital currencies, reducing dependence on Western-dominated financial channels.
  However, even as bilateral trade booms, the trade gap has widened to $58.9 billion, heavily skewed in Russia’s favour. Trade experts argue that India could raise exports from $5 billion to nearly $35 billion if barriers in food, pharma, textiles, and machinery are eased.

Energy and Nuclear Cooperation: A Central Pillar
Both leaders underscored that energy security remains a cornerstone of the partnership.
Energy Collaboration

• Russia reaffirmed its commitment to uninterrupted oil and gas supplies to India.
• Putin linked energy cooperation directly to India’s economic rise, calling Russia a “reliable supplier.”
  Civil Nuclear Cooperation
  Defence and nuclear issues dominated discussions. Both sides agreed to broaden collaboration across:
• Nuclear fuel cycle,
• Life-cycle support for the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP),
• Non-power applications,
• And a new agenda for peaceful atomic energy and high technologies.
  They also reviewed progress on ongoing units at KKNPP and discussed the allotment of a second site for a future Russian-built nuclear plant in India. Putin reiterated Russia’s willingness to work with India on small modular reactors (SMRs) and floating nuclear plants, signalling advanced-tech cooperation rarely extended by Moscow to other partners.

Defence, Security, and Technology Transfer
India and Russia continue to see defence as a critical foundation of their partnership. Russia remains the only major power willing to share sensitive technologies such as nuclear submarines and missile defence systems—vital platforms that have shaped India’s strategic capabilities, most recently seen in the effective deployment of the S-400 system during Operation Sindoor.
At the summit, both sides reaffirmed cooperation in:

• Joint R&D and co-production aligned with Make in India,
• Expansion of military exercises,
• Technology transfer in advanced systems,
• Addressing new-age security threats.
  The joint statement highlighted concerns over terrorist misuse of ICT tools, including payment platforms, social media, fundraising channels, and particularly the misuse of UAVs/drones.

Labour Mobility: A New Dimension in Ties
In an unexpected but strategically important development, India and Russia signed two agreements governing the movement of workers:

1. Agreement on Combating Irregular Migration
   – Prompted by incidents where Indian citizens, lured by job offers, ended up fighting or dying in the Russia–Ukraine conflict.
2. Agreement on Temporary Labour Activity
   – Enables skilled Indian workers to take up jobs in Russia across construction, agriculture, IT-enabled services, electronics, and textiles.
   Russia currently faces an acute labour shortage, with more than 3 million positions needing to be filled by 2030. Sources indicate that up to 70,000 Indian workers could be employed in Russian industries over the next 2–3 years.
   India, which has already signed similar mobility pacts with Japan, Israel, the UAE, and Germany, is considering setting up training facilities in Maharashtra to prepare workers for deployment. Russia’s comparatively regulated working hours and competitive wages have already attracted around 10,000 Indian workers, despite the language barrier.

Connectivity and Maritime Corridors
Connectivity was another major theme, with both countries committing to:

• Strengthening the International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC),
• Expanding the Chennai–Vladivostok Maritime Corridor,
• Enhancing infrastructure for the Northern Sea Route.
  An MoU on training specialists for ships navigating polar waters was signed to support Arctic cooperation.

People-to-People Engagement
To expand societal linkages:

• India and Russia signed MoUs on migration and mobility,
• Russia offered 30-day visa-free e-tourist entry for Indian citizens,
• Multiple agreements were inked on health, maritime cooperation, fertilisers, academia, customs, and media collaboration—16 pacts in total.
  Russia also formally joined India’s International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA), enhancing conservation diplomacy.

Diplomacy Without the Word “War”
A notable feature of the summit was the absence of any reference to “war” or “conflict” in the joint statement—both Modi and Putin called it a “crisis,” reflecting India’s careful diplomatic positioning.
India’s Stand
Prime Minister Modi stated:

• “India is not neutral; India is on the side of peace.”
• “We support all efforts towards peace.”
  This aligns with India’s long-standing messaging since 2022, though noticeably, the phrasing differed from earlier remarks such as “not an era of war” and “solutions can’t be found on the battlefield.”
  Russia’s View
  Putin disclosed only that he briefed Modi in detail about:
• The situation in Ukraine,
• And talks initiated by the US on a possible settlement.
  European capitals, already frustrated with India’s energy ties with Russia, viewed the red-carpet welcome for Putin—including Modi personally receiving him at the airport—as troubling and politically revealing.