India and Russia last week discussed a wide range of issues, including the training of Indian sailors for polar navigation and joint projects for Arctic shipbuilding, at the first meeting of their working group for cooperation on the Northern Sea Route, according to HindustanTimes.
The decision to establish a working group on the Northern Sea Route under the bilateral intergovernmental commission on trade, economic, scientific, technical and cultural cooperation was made during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s summit meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow in July.
The first meeting of the working group, held in New Delhi on October 10, discussed several issues, including targets for Indian and Russian cargo transit along the route, joint projects for Arctic shipbuilding, and possible training of Indian sailors for polar navigation.
The working group drafted a memorandum of understanding between the governments of India and Russia for the “development of cooperation in cargo shipping in the waters of the Northern Sea Route”, the statement said.
The working group’s meeting was co-chaired by Rajesh Kumar Sinha, additional secretary in India’s ministry of ports, shipping and waterways, and Vladimir Panov, Rosatom’s special representative for Arctic development.
A joint statement issued following the meeting between Modi and Putin on July 9 said that the two sides will cooperate in “developing shipping between Russia and India via the Northern Sea Route”.
The Northern Sea Route is seen as the shortest shipping route connecting the western part of Eurasia and the Asia-Pacific. In 2018, the Russian government appointed Rosatom, the state-run atomic energy agency, as the infrastructure operator for the Northern Sea Route.
The Indian side is interested in two proposed transportation corridors – the Northern Sea Route and the Eastern Maritime Corridor – because they can ensure uninterrupted energy supplies from Russia, two Indian officials from different ministries said on condition of anonymity.
Popular maritime routes through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea have been frequently disrupted by ongoing geopolitical conflicts, hurting trade and leading to a spike in transportation costs because of soaring insurance premiums, one official said. “India cannot afford such frequent trade disruptions and is keen to develop all alternate routes that reduce time and cost overruns,” he said.
The second official, working in an economic ministry, said that the Northern Sea Route is more relevant now as bilateral merchandise trade between Russia and India has risen from $7.5 billion in 2016-17 to more than $65 billion in 2023-24, mainly due to India’s oil imports. “Imagine the savings when transportation cost and logistics time are significantly reduced,” the second official said.
The Northern Sea Route will help India meet its requirements for coal, liquefied natural gas (LNG), fertilisers and other container cargo. Besides, Indian public sector companies such as Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) are invested in oil and gas assets in Sakhalin and Tomsk region of Siberia.
The corridor can help them bring equity oil to Indian ports, instead of selling the same due to transportation issue, the second official said.