... International Studies; addressed the participants with welcoming remarks.
Session 1 of the roundtable was devoted to the Russian, Indian and Iranian interests in Afghanistan and the possibilities of their interaction on issues of common interest in order to ... ... Konarovsky, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation; Leading Research Fellow, Center for East Asia and SCO Studies, Institute of International Studies, MGIMO University; RIAC Member.
Session 2 focused on the implications of recent ...
... work together in trilateral or other multilateral formats. The alternative approach—trying to balance Beijing and New Delhi against the other—might give Moscow certain situational advantages, but it will not serve Russia's long-term interests.
Moscow could offer India and Beijing new opportunities for trilateral development projects in the Arctic region, in Central Asia or even in the Russian Far East. Agriculture and food processing might represent another area for trilateral cooperation. The three countries ...
... Observer State in 2005 to a full member in 2017, the evolution of India’s more than a decade long exposure and engagement with SCO highlight the growing relevance of the organisation in India’s Eurasian strategic calculus. As a full member of the SCO, India is now not just an observer, where it would earlier be compelled to react and recalibrate its position based on its Eurasian observations, but a key stakeholder in shaping the dynamics of Central Asia. Given the geopolitical realignments, the stakes ...
... the Russian Il-78 MKI in the contest for securing a $2 billion contract to supply 6 aircraft (later the results of the tender were canceled).
The landmark event for Russia-India partnership in energy sphere was the first shipment of LNG from Russia to India in June 2018. Moscow has finally entered Indian gas market and offered more attractive terms than LNG suppliers from the U.S. From Moscow’s perspective, this deal is a great opportunity to show that the international blockade imposed by Washington against Russian oil ...
... training grounds located in the Orenburg, Chelyabinsk, Kurgan, Astrakhan and Kemerovo regions, in Dagestan and the Altai Territory, as well as in the Caspian Sea. This exercise holds significance, especially, after the tensions prevailing between the two SCO members India and Pakistan. The maturity of the two countries should not be underestimated. For Russia, it is a diplomatic victory to be able to bring them together for the common purpose of countering international terrorism.
The International North-South Transport ...
... and increase India’s role in regional and global affairs, which is the object of the country’s progressively growing desire. These developments also open new opportunities for broad cooperation within BRICS and the consultative mechanism of three SCO members — Russia, India, and China (known as RIC). The next RIC meeting is scheduled to take place alongside the upcoming BRICS summit in Osaka in late June 2019, which will be held concurrently with the next G20 summit.
Another important positive factor in the further ...
... declarations raises certain questions: To what degree is BRICS suitable as a platform for discussing anti-terrorist initiatives? And can breakthroughs in this area be achieved within BRICS?
Dattesh Parulekar:
BRICS Should Avoid Becoming an anti-US Group
SCO and BRICS
When India and Pakistan were admitted to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in June 2017, it seemed it would replace BRICS as the principal platform for discussing regional security issues. The SCO has several major advantages over BRICS in that regard: ...
... platforms
The Indo-Russian collaboration has been vibrant and active across multiple international forums including BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) that stand out amid the majority of international diplomatic forums led by the West. India’s accession to the SCO and the recent multinational counter-terrorism
military exercise
provides an opportunity to deepen its involvement in the Eurasian geopolitics. Also, the bilateral collaboration has been strategic in terms of creating new financial institutions that ...
... Beijing’s widely publicized foreign policy slogan of building a “community of common destiny,” which for the time being remains rather vague and lacking in real content. The Qingdao Declaration drew particular attention to this fact.
Russia and other SCO states (with the exception of India, a fact also reflected in the meeting’s final document) generally support the One Belt One Road concept, while actively advocating its involvement with other economic projects in the region. The signing of an agreement on economic cooperation ...
... and various scenarios for the further development of the SCO to be implemented. However, the expansion of the organization that followed two years later changed its prospects significantly, narrowing the once-ample scope of opportunities. By embracing India and Pakistan, the SCO passed an important point of no return in its institutional development.
It is not about the expansion per se. Had the SCO accepted Mongolia, Turkmenistan and Belarus – or even Vietnam or a post-UN sanctions North Korea – as full members, for ...
