India-Russia Call for Greater Cooperation in Evolving Multipolar World Order
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and stated that the evolving multipolar world order necessitates greater cooperation between India and Russia through multilateral platforms including BRICS, SCO, G20, and the UN.
With India holding the BRICS Chairmanship in 2026, Jaishankar emphasised a "humanity first" and "people-centric" approach for the chairmanship year.
Lavrov described India's foreign policy as "independent" and praised India's growing stature as a leading global political and economic centre in the emerging multipolar order.
Lavrov expressed that Russia looks forward to welcoming Prime Minister Modi for a state visit in 2026.
Both sides reaffirmed the "Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership" and committed to deepening cooperation across energy, trade, logistics, and technology.
India-Russia Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership
India and Russia share one of the most durable bilateral relationships in post-independence Indian foreign policy. The relationship was formalised as a "Strategic Partnership" in October 2000 during President Putin's visit to India, and elevated to a "Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership" in December 2010 during President Medvedev's visit. The relationship spans defence, energy, nuclear technology, space, trade, and multilateral diplomacy.
Jaishankar's meeting with Lavrov reinforced the institutional framework of the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership, with both sides positioning the relationship as a pillar of the emerging multipolar order rather than a legacy Cold War alignment.
Multipolarity and India's Strategic Autonomy
Multipolarity refers to a world order characterised by multiple centres of power rather than the unipolar (post-Cold War US-led) or bipolar (Cold War US-USSR) structures. India has consistently advocated for a multipolar world order as a core foreign policy principle, enshrined in its Strategic Autonomy doctrine — maintaining independent positions free from bloc-based pressures. This approach allows India to maintain strong ties simultaneously with the US, Russia, Europe, and the Global South.
Key Details
- India's doctrine of Non-Alignment evolved post-Cold War into "Strategic Autonomy"
- Strategic Autonomy enables India to participate in QUAD (with US, Japan, Australia) while also remaining in SCO and BRICS alongside Russia and China
- BRICS 2026 Chairmanship — India holds the chair; BRICS expanded in 2023 to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, UAE, Saudi Arabia (BRICS+)
- SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) — India became a full member in 2017; serves as a bridge between Central Asian, South Asian, and Eurasian security architecture
- India has abstained on UN Security Council and General Assembly votes condemning Russia over Ukraine, citing commitment to dialogue and diplomacy
Both sides' invocation of multipolarity and BRICS/SCO cooperation signals that India-Russia ties are being reframed from a bilateral defence partnership into a broader geopolitical alignment in shaping the post-Western-led global order.
BRICS: Structure and India's 2026 Chairmanship
BRICS (originally Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) was formalised as an annual summit mechanism in 2009. In August 2023, the Johannesburg Summit announced a historic expansion, with six new members invited to join from January 2024: Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Argentina (Argentina later declined). With India holding the 2026 chairmanship, it directs the bloc's agenda for the year.
Jaishankar's emphasis on BRICS as a vehicle for the multipolar order directly ties India's 2026 chairmanship to the bilateral goal of deepening India-Russia cooperation within multilateral institutions that both countries use to balance Western dominance.
- India-Russia current bilateral trade: USD 68.7 billion (2025)
- India-Russia trade target: USD 100 billion by 2030
- Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership elevated in: December 2010
- BRICS 2026 Chair: India
- SCO India membership: Full member since June 2017 (Astana Summit)
- Annual India-Russia Summit mechanism: operational since 2000
- International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC): a key logistics route for bilateral trade, spanning 7,200 km from Mumbai to St. Petersburg via Iran
- Northern Sea Route: an alternative Arctic sea route being developed to reduce dependence on Suez Canal-dependent shipping lanes