Russian Ambassador to India Denis Alipov’s Interview about India's priorities within BRICS Chairship 2026

On January 1, 2026, the BRICS Chairship officially passed to India. In an exclusive interview for BRICS Expert Council-Russia, Denis Alipov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to India, discussed the current state of Russian-Indian relations, India's role as an influential center of power, and cooperation within BRICS.

Q: Russia and India traditionally call their relations a "Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership." How do you assess the current state of this partnership against the backdrop of the constantly changing global order?

Denis Alipov: Throughout the entire period since our embassies were established — we will celebrate the 80th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2027 — ties between Russia and India have consistently offered a unique example of friendly relations built on equality, mutual respect, trust, and shared or similar positions on international issues. Adherence to these principles has made our partnership inherently valuable and resilient to external pressure. As in the past, today, multifaceted and mutually beneficial cooperation with New Delhi remains an unconditional priority of Russia’s foreign policy, and its significance continues to grow. Russia is India’s key partner in strategically important areas such as energy security — including nuclear energy — defence technology, space, artificial intelligence, Arctic research, and agriculture. Importantly, the steady expansion of cooperation aligns with the fundamental national interests of both countries.

The year 2025 marked two significant milestones: the 25th anniversary of our strategic partnership and the 15th anniversary of its elevation to a special and privileged level. The highlight was undoubtedly the 23rd Russia-India Annual Summit held on December 4-5 in New Delhi, which featured a state visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin. During talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, both sides reaffirmed their commitment to raising our partnership to a new level in line with the demands of the time and the needs of our complementary economies.

To foster a favourable external environment, we are jointly promoting multipolarity and global governance reform. To that end, we coordinate closely within the UN, the G20, and BRICS — and we will strongly support India’s 2026 Chairship of the group.

Q: Economic and technological cooperation between Russia and India is actively developing, despite external constraints. Which areas of cooperation do you consider the most promising in the medium and long term?

Denis Alipov: These two sectors are being given priority attention. The record levels of bilateral trade reflect the enormous potential of our economic partnership. According to India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry, trade between our two nations reached $53.8 billion in January-October 2025. Russia remains India’s fourth‑largest trading partner and is its leading supplier of oil (about 30-35%), petroleum products (28%), sunflower oil (51%), and fertilisers (21%). Despite overt attempts to undermine Russian‑Indian ties, we are jointly finding ways to adapt to new conditions.

We have maintained good momentum in the crucial task of diversifying economic relations. Efforts to increase Indian exports to Russia have gained significant impetus — this was a key theme at the Russia-India Business Forum held during President Putin’s state visit in 2025. Russia is ready to boost purchases of Indian goods and services across a wide range of areas, including machinery and automotive components, electrical equipment and electronics, textiles, cosmetics, household appliances, pharmaceuticals, and agricultural products. Opportunities are opening for greater mutual access to agricultural markets — including seafood — and for establishing joint ventures in fertiliser production. 

Business contacts and inter‑regional ties have intensified noticeably. Direct settlements between our nations have become more self‑reliant: the share of national currencies has reached 97%, and we have advanced to a new level of banking cooperation using national payment systems. Fully implementing alternative logistics projects such as the International North-South Transport Corridor, the Chennai-Vladivostok Maritime Corridor, and the Northern Sea Route will bring substantial benefits. Labour‑mobility arrangements are becoming more streamlined, which could facilitate broader business and people‑to‑people contacts.

The launch of the Authorised Economic Operator mechanism was a significant step, while creating joint trade and industry associations and further reducing trade barriers would be a much-needed development. One near‑term priority is concluding a free‑trade agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and India; negotiations began in November 2025.

The advanced nature of our relations is reflected in successful cooperation on unique high‑tech projects. Russia leads in defence‑technology cooperation in India, offering advanced systems and demonstrating its readiness to deeply localise production under the Make in India initiative — including through implementing the fifth‑generation fighter project based on the Sukhoi Su‑57E. We remain the only country successfully partnering with India in civilian nuclear energy. Beyond the flagship Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant project, we are discussing small modular reactors, floating nuclear power plants, and non‑energy applications of nuclear technology. 

Cooperation is expanding in petrochemicals, metal industry, railway engineering, shipbuilding, space, ICT, fintech, AI, cybersecurity, quantum computing, biomedicine, materials science, and smart‑city development. A real breakthrough in aircraft manufacturing will come from joint work on producing the in‑demand Superjet‑100 medium‑haul aircraft in India, as well as supplying updated turboprop Ilyushin Il‑114‑300 aircraft, which were successfully showcased at the Hyderabad Wings India Airshow on January 28-31, 2025. Agreements in these areas have already been reached.

I am confident that dynamic progress in these and other sectors will help achieve the leaders’ confirmed goal of reaching $100 billion in trade by 2030. The Programme for the Development of Strategic Areas of Russian-lndian Economic Cooperation till 2030, adopted at the Summit, sets clear guidelines for this purpose.

Q:  India is playing an increasingly prominent role in global politics and economy. How do you think its foreign policy strategy has changed over the past decade, and what opportunities are opening up today for deepening cooperation between Russia and India? India has traditionally pursued a course of strategic autonomy. How does this approach affect its relations with Russia and New Delhi's position on key international issues?

Denis Alipov: A multi‑vector foreign policy has always been part of the DNA of India’s strategic outlook. India was one of the founding members of the Non‑Aligned Movement, whose members sought their own path to development after a long period of colonial subjugation, addressing poverty and technological backwardness while refusing to take sides in the Cold War — neither with the Western bloc nor the socialist camp. The founding figures of modern India established a core principle of building mutually beneficial, equitable relations with all foreign partners.

New Delhi’s current diplomatic approaches largely maintain this continuity, both  in terms of multi‑vector engagement and the importance of strategic autonomy — the capacity to make independent decisions in response to national challenges.

Alongside its special and privileged strategic partnership with Russia, India is building strategic relationships with the United States, the European Union, countries in the Asia‑Pacific region, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. This is a natural and understandable paradigm — one that should come as no surprise. What is concerning, by contrast, is the policy of the collective West, which openly demands that India curtail its ties with Russia. India rejects such a “zero‑sum” approach and, amid today’s highly polarised international discourse, maintains an equidistant position. This applies to the Ukraine crisis as well as other conflicts.

Q: Cooperation within BRICS remains a vital multilateral format for both countries. As the 2026 BRICS Chair, what role is India playing in shaping the group's agenda amid its expansion and its deepening dialogue with partner countries and Global Majority nations?

Denis Alipov: Each BRICS member contributes uniquely, playing an important part in creating favourable conditions for progressive development and enhancing  the socio-economic, innovative, and human potential of the group. We are all united by a shared commitment to facilitating a civilised transition towards a more equitable, multipolar world order.

We welcome the Indian Chairship's dedication to maintaining and enhancing the momentum of multifaceted BRICS cooperation across all three pillars: politics and security, economy and finance, and cultural and people-to-people exchanges.

The theme of India's Chairship is "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation, and Sustainability." Guided by this motto, we will deepen dialogue on counterterrorism and the secure use of ICTs, and contribute to the advancement of developing countries in global governance institutions. BRICS will continue taking concrete steps to develop trade and investment ties within the group that will be outlined in the BRICS 2030 Economic Partnership Strategy. This document will define key objectives for our joint work on the multilateral trading system, the digital economy, financial cooperation, and sustainable development.

Simultaneously, in the spirit of continuity, it is crucial to implement previously reached agreements. Against the backdrop of growing protectionism and the persistent use of unilateral, illegitimate restrictions, developing mechanisms to support practical cooperation that are resilient to external risks is especially relevant. In this regard, we see great promise in flagship projects launched during Russia's 2024 BRICS Chairship, including initiatives on cross-border payments, settlement and payment infrastructure, reinsurance company, investment platform, and grain exchange.

The Indian Chairship aims to create additional opportunities for intensifying contacts between foreign ministers and security council heads, fostering ties among industry agencies, promoting the inter-parliamentary dimension, and expanding expert, business, scientific, technological, and humanitarian links. I am confident that these new frameworks will significantly boost our collaboration on national currencies, AI adoption, business support, and tackling emerging challenges.

The expansion of BRICS membership has enriched the diversity of national perspectives, opening new facets and horizons for cooperation. That said, the foundational principles of the group — equality, consensus, openness, and mutual respect — remain unchanged. This cooperative model allows the BRICS countries to engage in candid dialogue free from external dictate and to advance a positive, non-confrontational agenda in global affairs. The Russian and Brazilian chairships in 2024 and 2025 aimed to help new members integrate, and they largely succeeded, despite the decidedly pessimistic forecasts from some detractors about BRICS facing difficulties due to differing potentials and positions on certain issues. I am confident that during India's Chairship, we will continue our constructive collaboration to firmly establish our forum in its expanded format.

It is equally important to actively engage partner countries within the group's extensive interaction architecture where appropriate and necessary. Overall by involving developing nations of the Global South in BRICS events through expanded formats, including Outreach and BRICS Plus, the group acts as a flagship for multilateralism and a champion of ideas to reform the global governance system with a focus on enhancing the role of the Global Majority and overcoming global imbalances. The Global South nations have an immense interest in building dialogue with BRICS countries.

Q: What message about Russia do you think is most important for the Indian public to hear right now, considering the current global shifts and the future of our bilateral relationship?

Denis Alipov: Given the profound mutual understanding between our nations, I would like to emphasise that Moscow and New Delhi are walking the same path, advancing our national priorities while supporting each other. We view a strong and prosperous India as a fundamental pillar of the emerging multipolar world order and wholeheartedly welcome its aspirations to take a rightful place among global powers. We contribute to this by supporting India's energy and food security, enhancing its defence capabilities, and backing its well-founded claim for  a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council. In my engagements with both India's political leadership and its people, I have consistently seen that Russia is regarded as one of civilisational poles in world affairs, holding unique and indispensable value for India. The tangible outcomes of our collaboration affirm this approach.

Russian-Indian relations truly stand as a model of interstate ties that perfectly align with national interests. We are committed to further deepening and diversifying this partnership, making it resilient to external pressures to ensure the progressive and innovative development of our economies. Together, we can and should set even more ambitious goals, fully leveraging our human, technological, and resource potential to achieve them. Closer integration promises significant benefits for both our nations.