India, Dec. 4 -- When President Vladimir Putin arrives in New Delhi today for a State visit and the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit, he will be reaffirming one of the world's most durable major partnerships. Few relationships have demonstrated the steadiness, trust and long-term strategic alignment that characterise India-Russia ties. At a time when global politics is marked by fracturing alignments and divisive sanctions regimes, the visit reinforces a legacy of friendship while recasting the partnership for what lies ahead. At the core of this relationship lies the India-Russia Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership, a mutually chosen designation that differentiates from all other strategic partnerships and is unique to our two countries. It has been strengthened by a quarter century of annual summits. One thread that traverses the turbulence of contemporary geopolitics has been the regular, candid, high-level dialogue between us. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Putin have met over the last couple of years in Moscow, Kazan and Tianjin, and held multiple, discreet phone conversations on issues ranging from regional security to the Pahalgam terror attack. Ministerial and NSA-level engagements have been equally active. Economic cooperation continues to expand. Bilateral trade reached $68.7 billion in FY 2024-25, driven largely by India's energy imports. While India's exports remain just under $5 billion, the scope for growth is significant. Indian pharmaceuticals, textiles and apparel, agricultural products, and marine exports such as shrimp have strong potential in the Russian market. The larger goal is to move beyond a hydrocarbons-dominated trading pattern toward a more diversified, resilient economic partnership anchored in industrial collaboration, technology transfer, and investment. India's interests in coking coal, rare earths, and fertilisers align naturally with Russia's pivot to Asia. Connectivity will be central to achieving this transformation. The Chennai-Vladivostok Eastern Maritime Corridor and the emerging Northern Sea Route could sharply reduce logistics costs. Expanded cooperation in the Russian Far East and the early conclusion of the long-pending India-Eurasian Economic Union free trade agreement would further unlock opportunities. Several important agreements - such as a new framework for safe, regulated migration of skilled Indian workers to Russia - are in advanced stages of preparation. Defence cooperation, long a cornerstone of India-Russia ties, remains vital. While India has diversified its procurement sources in recent years, platforms such as the Su-30MKI fighter, T-90S tank, and the S-400 air defence system remain central to India's defence capabilities. The partnership has evolved beyond a buyer-seller model to encompass joint research, design, and development - most notably the world-class, India-made, BrahMos cruise missile. India's emphasis on defence indigenisation under "Make in India" aligns well with Russia's interest in stable, long-term markets for its defence industry. The Inter-Governmental Commission on Military and Military-Technical Cooperation will be reviewing projects and advancing negotiations on next-generation systems. Civil nuclear cooperation provides another layer of strategic depth. India's largest nuclear power plant at Kudankulam is a flagship of our technological cooperation. Progress on additional units, greater localisation of components, and discussions on jointly implementing nuclear power projects in third countries underline the maturity of this partnership. Explorations into cooperation on small modular reactors and across the nuclear fuel cycle reflect an ambition to elevate the relationship further into high-technology domains. Support for strong India-Russia ties has long cut across political party lines in both countries. The relationship is underpinned by a shared commitment to a multipolar world order, and within it, a multipolar Asia. India considers Russia a reliable partner that has consistently supported it in the UN, including for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. Our multilateral cooperation will assume even greater salience as India takes on the Brics Chairmanship shortly. The cultural and educational foundations of the partnership are robust. Over 20,000 Indian students currently study in Russia, principally in medicine and engineering. Yoga enjoys enormous popularity across Russia. Indian cinema, dance, and music have long commanded an enthusiastic following. Tourism and artistic exchanges continue to grow, creating a reservoir of goodwill that helps keep the relationship resilient. India's multi-alignment approach enables it to deepen ties with the US, expand its role in the Indo-Pacific, and diversify defence procurement, while simultaneously maintaining Russia as an indispensable strategic partner in critical domains such as defence, energy, nuclear cooperation, and space. In a fractured international environment, India-Russia ties provide strategic cushioning and stability to both. Over the coming decade, economic diversification, high-technology collaboration, enhanced connectivity, and long-term arrangements in energy and fertilisers will help shape the next phase of the partnership. Putin's visit will re-anchor India-Russia relations within a transformed geopolitical landscape, while opening new vistas for cooperation. For India, the visit underscores that strategic autonomy is not just a doctrine, but a lived practice. Few partnerships demonstrate that practice more consistently than that between India and Russia....