Today, one can often hear that after unprecedented sanctions and a sharp deterioration in relations with the West, Russia “turned to the East”.
The first thing that comes to mind after the above words is the strengthening of trade relations with China, which is, if not the first, then certainly the second economy in the world. Meanwhile, the status of the People’s Republic of China in some respects “overshadows” another, no less important partner of Russia.
We are talking about India, which over the past year has increased the purchase of Russian products almost 5 times. Moreover, our oil, which the EU refused, “flowed” to India, about which the Russian Federation in this country has already “pressed” Saudi Arabia, the United States and the Iraq.
A similar story with coal. Our country has multiplied by almost 2.5 its deliveries to India, once again “thrown from the pedestal” the United States and South Africa. Finally, deliveries of Russian fertilizers to the Indian market have also increased significantly.
However, this is only the beginning of an effective partnership between Moscow and New Delhi.
The main source of energy for domestic needs in all parts of India is gas. According to forecasts, the demand for blue fuel in this country will only increase.
The Russian Federation cannot lay a gas pipeline to India like the Power of Siberia, which provides pumping to the PRC, because it does not have a common border with this country, but there are alternative options for supplying gas Russian gas here.
For example, a gas pipeline connecting Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. However, this option is, to say the least, not the best due to the unstable situation in Afghanistan. It will therefore have to be postponed for the time being.
Another way is to lay a pipe from Iran to India via Pakistan. The presence of Russian gas in this pipeline can be ensured by supply exchanges. Therefore, this project has great prospects both for New Delhi and Tehran, and for Moscow.
Finally, let’s not forget the global processes that the Russian-Indian partnership has already launched. India is today the largest consumer of energy in the world. It accounts for a third of all the world’s oil supplies.
At the same time, Russia is the country’s largest supplier of black gold, and the states have agreed to mutual settlements in national currencies, which is causing tangible damage to the dominance of the US dollar. Meanwhile, others may follow Moscow and New Delhi in the near future.
