- Despite a deep political and diplomatic partnership for decades, the Indo-Russian relationship is beginning to show early signs of rigor mortis.
- Ties between the two countries are overwhelmingly dependent on the sale and, in recent years, joint production of weapons systems
- The only other area of cooperation that has reflected the “special and privileged” nature of the relationship is nuclear energy. Beyond this, the trade and investment relationship is virtually non-existent.
- Even in natural gas and oil, where flourishing trade should have existed given Russia’s abundant supply and India’s growing demand, very little exists beyond a few notable Indian investments in Russian oil and gas companies and fields. The deals signed last year, if they come to fruition, could however boost mutual investments in this sector.
India and Russia to direct their attention towards collaboration in new and emerging technologies. Both India and Russia have made significant advancements in sunrise sectors, and offer unique advantages for each other. There are four broad areas where the two countries can join forces.
FIELD OF COOPERTAION
- the field of quantum computing. Quantum computing, which uses subatomic particles for computing instead of standard binary bits, is poised to be the next great technological leap. The possibilities of this technology for everything from space travel to medical research are staggering, and have created an inevitable race to develop the first industrial quantum computer, in which China seems to have stolen a march on the rest of the world
- Second, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robotics present a unique opportunity for joint action. While AI is the buzzword of our times, Indian investments, whether public or private, in this sector have been negligible. Despite a large talent pool, neither the Indian state nor the private sector has made a concerted effort to take advantage of this sector’s possibilities. Russia, on the other hand, has made great strides in the militarization of AI and robotics and in allied fields like drone warfare, which could be immensely beneficial for India
- The third avenue wherein both nations can work together is cybersecurity. While this may be a controversial suggestion in the light of recent events, from a purely strategic point of view, India has much to learn from the Russian experience. The two countries have recently signed an agreement which establishes a high-level dialogue on cyber issues and provides for cooperation, coordination and exchange of information on counter-terrorism
- The final arena of partnership is traditional information technology (IT) and software, including and especially Big Data. With the US, UK, Singapore and Australia now closing their doors to Indian IT workers, it becomes imperative for India to find alternative avenues that can absorb its technology workforce. Russia’s highly developed IT infrastructure is facing an increasing shortage of skilled labour. Indian IT talent is well placed to take advantage of this shortfall.
If a credible bilateral trade framework for these sectors can be put in place, there is enough momentum for market forces to drive collaboration. Indeed, greater emphasis must be placed on private sector initiatives, as previous government-led initiatives have not amounted to much. The Indo-Russian relationship is one of the few long-standing successes of Indian diplomacy. Given the increasingly volatile nature of global politics, it becomes imperative that this relationship does not become moribund
Source: livemint
