Putin Is Coming To India, What Can We Expect?

Russian President Vladimir Putin is coming to India this week, with his visit taking place just before the BRICS Summit in New Delhi. This is India’s fourth BRICS chairship and its first in-person summit since 2016.

Putin will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 11, ahead of the BRICS meetings on September 12 and 13. In this bilateral meeting, defence, energy, and trade are expected to be the main agenda.

One of the biggest things to watch is the possible sale of Russia’s Su-57 fifth-generation fighter jets to India. Russian officials have confirmed that the aircraft is on the agenda, but India is also looking for technology transfer and greater manufacturing cooperation. If this happens, then it is more important as India heads towards advanced domestic defence production. 

Nuclear energy is another key area. Russia is already a major partner in India’s nuclear programme, and the two sides are discussing the possibility of setting up more nuclear power plants.

Trade will also come up. India has sharply increased its imports of Russian oil in recent years, but that has created a huge trade imbalance. New Delhi now wants to increase Indian exports to Russia and expand cooperation beyond oil. The two countries are also increasingly using the rupee-rouble equation for bilateral trade.

All of this comes as India hosts the 18th BRICS Summit.

India has hosted BRICS summits in 2012 and 2016, while the 2021 summit was held virtually because of Covid. BRICS has also changed considerably since then. The grouping now includes 11 member countries and is now looking at issues ranging from trade and finance to technology, energy and global governance. India’s theme this year is “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.”

The geopolitical angle will be just as important. If Chinese President Xi Jinping attends, Modi will have an opportunity to engage with both Xi and Putin at a time when India is trying to manage complicated relationships with Russia and China while also strengthening ties with the US and Europe.

So, the big things to watch from Putin’s visit are the Su-57, nuclear energy, trade and payments. But the larger question is whether India and Russia can take their relationship beyond its traditional dependence on oil and defence, and what role BRICS can play in India’s larger foreign-policy strategy.