The military ties between Moscow and New Delhi are poised to rise to the next level with a new agreement, Russian media reports claimed this week. A draft law has been submitted to the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian Federation, to ratify an agreement that will "significantly simplify the exchange of military units, ships, and aircraft between the two countries," the report said.
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The document, which has already appeared in the parliament’s legislative database, will further boost the military ties between Russia and India as Russian military formations, ships, and aircraft will be able to deploy to India on prior notice.
Likewise, the Indian military units will be allowed to harbour in Russian ports as well. The agreement covers not only joint exercises but also military units of the two nations dispatched to execute humanitarian missions like post-natural calamity relief operations, spbdnevnik.ru said in a report. "It covers not only joint exercises but also humanitarian missions, responses to natural disasters, and the aftermath of industrial accidents," the report read.
"The explanatory note states that ratifying the document will establish a “simplified notification procedure” for naval vessels from both countries to enter each other’s ports, as well as for the use of airspace and airfields. In practice, this creates a new level of operational coordination for Russia and India—from training activities to major international missions," it further said.
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The Kremlin is hopeful that the agreement will further strengthen its relationship with India—its time-tested ally from the Soviet era. Last month, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar inaugurated two new Indian consulates in Russia. In July 2024, India and Russia set a target of USD 100 billion in annual trade volume by 2030 and vowed to develop a robust bilateral payment settlement mechanism using national currencies. The two sides had also inked a total of nine agreements to further broaden cooperation in a range of areas, including in the economic domain, following summit talks between Prime Minister Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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Vladimir Putin will make a two-day visit to India from December 4 to hold annual summit talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi which is expected to produce a plethora of significant outcomes, including in the defence sphere, to further solidify the bilateral strategic ties.