Degrading Indo-Russia Ties

23 June 2017
 Source: Business Standard
Why in news?
The Joint Indo-Russian declaration was signed at the St Petersburg Economic Forum by India and Russia as they celebrated 70 years of ‘Indo-Russian’ diplomatic ties and friendship.

What are the worrying factors?

Joint Statement - A ‘multi-polar global order in international relations’.
A ‘multi-polar global order’ implies international recognition of China’s growing economic and military clout, which India does not want.
Russia’s closer ties with China and Pakistan - The two are all-weather friends who claim parts of Indian territory.
India sees their ties with Russia through the lens of its bilateral disputes with China and Pakistan.
In 2014, Russia broke its arms embargo on Pakistan and downgraded military technical cooperation with India from exclusive to preferred partner.
It also conducted its first joint military exercise with Pakistan.
Terrorism - Russia and India pledge ‘to combat international terrorism’ and call on the global community to respond ‘without double standards and selectivity.’
But Moscow fears that fighting in northern Afghanistan could spill over into its Central Asian back garden.
Wanting ISIS militants in Af-Pak to be crushed, Moscow sees its security interests ‘objectively’ coinciding with those of the Taliban over their common enemy, ISIS, and best safeguarded through dialogue with the Taliban and their Pakistani mentors.
On INSTC - India hopes that the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) could promote its connectivity, bilateral and regional cooperation with Central and West Asia.
The INSTC could reduce the journey between Mumbai and St Petersburg from 40 days to 20 days.
Its initial members were Russia, India and Iran.
Significantly, Russia does not view the INSTC as a counter to China’s OBOR.
Investment - Russia welcomes Indian investment in its Far Eastern region.
But China and Russia are already planning to set up a joint regional investment fund with a total amount of 100 billion Yuan to bolster the development of Russia’s Far East and Northeast China.

Continental ties

The Hindu

www.facebook.com/Aovious1

Context

India begins the heavy-lifting needed to transform economic partnerships in Africa

What has happened?

The 52nd Annual Meetings of the Board of Governors (the Bank’s highest decision-making body) of the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the 43rd Meetings of the Board of Governors of the African Development Fund (ADF) officially opened in Ahmedabad, India, on Tuesday, May 23, 2017 with calls for greater cooperation between the Bank and India to help drive Africa’s transformation.

What is AfDB?

The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group is a regional multilateral development finance institution established to contribute to the economic development and social progress of African countries that are the institution’s Regional Member Countries (RMCs).

Established on:
The AfDB was founded following an agreement signed by member states on _August 14, 1963_, in Khartoum, Sudan, which became effective on September 10, 1964

HQ
The AfDB headquarters is officially in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire

The AfDB comprises three entities:

*The African Development Bank (ADB)
*The African Development Fund (ADF)
*The Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF)

Mission of AfDB

AfDB’s mission is to

Help reduce poverty, improve living conditions for Africans and mobilize resources for the continent’s economic and social development

Members

The Bank Group has 80 member countries, comprising 54 regional member countries (RMC) and 26 non-regional member countries (NRMC).

Future cooperation

Maritime cooperation: India is working on a maritime outreach to extend its Sagarmala programme to the southern coastal African countries with ‘blue economies’
Solar connection : India is also building its International Solar Alliance, which Djibouti, Comoros, Cote d’Ivoire, Somalia and Ghana signed on to on the sidelines of the AfDB project

Involving other powers

In its efforts, India has tapped other development partners of Africa, including Japan, which sent a major delegation to the AfDB meeting
It has also turned to the United States, with which it has developed dialogues in fields such as peacekeeping training and agricultural support, to work with African countries
It is significant that during the recent inter-governmental consultations between India and Germany, both countries brought in their Africa experts to discuss possible cooperation in developmental programs in that continent

Conclusion

At a time when China is showcasing its Belt and Road Initiative as the “project of the century” and also bolstering its position as Africa’s largest donor, a coalition of like-minded countries such as the one India is putting together could provide an effective way to ensure more equitable and transparent development aid to Africa.

(This is imp topic related to India Africa relation for IAS /KAS mains GS under IR)