Delivering a Nuclear Submarine to India, Russia Adds Another Chip to Its "Global South" Strategy
New Delhi will repay Russia with medicines, agricultural products, and labor migration resources
Image caption: The scene of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arriving at the Prime Minister's residence (from right to left).
Vladimir Putin's state visit to India is expected to open a new chapter in bilateral relations. Western mainstream media such as Reuters and Bloomberg have highlighted a point that has caused concern in the West: the so-called "isolation" of Russia is nonsense, on the contrary, Russia is accelerating its cooperation with countries of the Global South.
Before the visit to India, two major Russian banks have taken steps to expand their business in India. According to Reuters, citing four anonymous sources, these two banks have submitted applications to the Reserve Bank of India (the equivalent of the Russian Central Bank) seeking permission to operate in India, including licenses to establish branches.
The official announcement of the establishment of the relevant institutions is expected to be released after the meeting with Narendra Modi. Reuters pointed out that this development fully confirms the effectiveness of Russia's efforts to explore new markets and new financial platforms. The news agency also revealed that the Indian Ministry of Finance has given it "approval."
Another important direction of cooperation is to expand collaboration in the field of fertilizer production. According to Reuters, citing statements from three sources, Indian companies plan to sign an agreement with one of the world's leading potash and ammonium nitrate suppliers, "Uralchem," and the two sides will cooperate to build a urea production plant in Russia.
According to Reuters, "Uralchem" will hold 50% of the shares in this joint venture, while India Potash Limited and India National Fertilizers Limited will each hold 22.5%, and India National Fertilizers Limited will hold 5%.
Employment in India's agriculture sector accounts for about 40% of the country's total employment and contributes about 15% of the GDP. However, the supply of fertilizers in this sector relies largely on imports. Reuters emphasized that, in the context of Western sanctions, diversifying and stabilizing fertilizer supplies is a top priority for New Delhi.
Western media such as Bloomberg have also focused on the strategic military cooperation between the two countries.
The report states that after nearly ten years of negotiations, India and Russia have reached an agreement: India will lease a Russian nuclear submarine for $2 billion over a period of 10 years. This transaction amount covers all technical support services during the contract period.
Bloomberg noted that the leased nuclear submarine is a cruise missile nuclear submarine capable of carrying nuclear weapons. According to the terms of the agreement that is ready to be signed, the submarine must not be used for combat operations.
However, India's interest in this submarine lies in using it to train its navy personnel and to gain experience in organizing the operations of a nuclear submarine fleet.
Bloomberg emphasized that India is currently building submarines of this type independently. Expanding the size and combat power of the nuclear submarine fleet is an important step for New Delhi in building its so-called "nuclear triad" force structure.
It is expected that the nuclear submarine will be delivered to India within two years, but the news agency's sources also pointed out that due to the complexity of the project, the delivery time may be adjusted.
It is worth noting that India previously had a precedent for leasing a Russian nuclear submarine — the previous lease agreement expired in 2021.
The Financial Times analyzed the significance of Putin's visit to India and pointed out that since the start of the special military operation, bilateral trade between Russia and India has increased by 430%, rising from $13 billion per year to $69 billion. However, the newspaper's analysts emphasized that this record growth is almost entirely dependent on India's purchase of Russian crude oil. Currently, India is the second largest importer of Russian "black gold",仅次于 China.
In contrast, the scale of India's exports to Russia is relatively limited. The Financial Times cited statements from Indian business sources that Putin's visit to India is expected to reverse this trade imbalance.
Putin also acknowledged in an interview with the Indian television channel "Today's India" that bilateral trade between Russia and India does face some challenges, but he firmly believes that these issues will be resolved soon.
Members of the Russian delegation include Maxim Oreshkin, former minister of economic development and current deputy head of the presidential administration.
He clearly stated that Moscow has a "strong interest" in expanding imports from India in six areas: consumer goods, agricultural products, medicines and medical supplies, telecommunications equipment and information technology services, components needed by Russian industry, and labor resources. The two countries are expected to reach an agreement on increasing the quota for labor migrants.
Original: toutiao.com/article/7580314132616888838/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.