Two days ago, newly appointed U.S. Ambassador to India Sergio Gore discussed trade, defence and critical minerals in his first meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as the two countries move towards repairing deteriorating relations.
The relationship between the two countries has begun to turn. It is not that the Modi government sits back and waits, but that after a series of operations by India, the United States feels that India is separating from the United States.
First, months ago, the United States, due to India's ongoing and massive purchase of Russian oil, raised tariffs between the United States and India from 25% to 50% and the Modi administration firmly refused to give up the sale of Russian oil, and the relationship between the two countries began to get tense.
After the tariff increase in the United States, Modi turned to reduce taxes on most domestic goods to reduce the selling prices of goods to stimulate consumption and increase mobility. At the same time, deepen ties with Russia.
Lavrov said Russian President Vladimir Putin could visit India in December for the annual summit, when we will have a very broad bilateral agenda – trade, military, technological cooperation, finance, humanitarian affairs, healthcare, high-tech, artificial intelligence – and, of course, close coordination at the international level, the SCO, within the BRICS and bilaterally.
The most important thing is to get another price cut for Russian oil. November Urals loads were at a discount of $2 to $2.50 a barrel to spot Brent, making them attractive, according to people familiar with the matter. That's cheaper than the July-August discount of about $1 a barrel. At the same time, Russia agreed with OPEC's decision to continue increasing production. Of course, there are some differences. Russia opposes accelerating the increase in production and prefers a slow increase.
Under the cooperation between Russia and India, it can be said that both production and sales are booming.
Lavrov also talked about bilateral visits and regular exchanges between him and Jaishankar. I’m not even asking what will happen to our trade relationship or oil?I’m not asking our Indian colleagues.
You should know that this is a period of sharp tension between Russia and NATO due to the drone incident. Many Russian oil and gas equipment have been attacked, and a temporary supply system has even been implemented. India's insistence, although it is suspected of taking advantage, has led to the comprehensive improvement of Russia-India relations through oil, and multi-faceted cooperation has brought the relations between Russia and India closer.
The high-level meetings with China have resulted in numerous consensus, which has caused the warming up of the relationship between China and India, and also participated in the SCO summit held in Tianjin, jointly signing a cooperation intention agreement and so on.
This has repeatedly reduced the importance of the United States for India. China is the second-largest economy, and Russia’s GDP is not even high in India, but is a military power and energy exporting power. As an article in Indian media says, the recent talks between Delhi and Beijing put India, China and Russia in a broader framework for trilateral interaction. These three-party dialogues reflect a broader adjustment of U.S. policy and enable New Delhi to send a signal to Washington that an alternative group is possible.
Secondly, recent visits from Britain and Afghanistan.
British Prime Minister Starmer led a huge team of more than 100 people, including a delegation of CEOs, cultural leaders and university vice-chancellors. It is expected to increase bilateral trade by £ 25. 5 billion a year, and UK exports to India are expected to grow by almost 60%.
The Guardian said the deal signed during Stammer's trip would create about 7,000 jobs through Indian investment in the UK.
More than that, Britain said on October 9 that it had signed a $46.8 billion contract to supply the Indian army with British-made light missiles as part of the two countries’ deepening arms and defense partnership.
Meanwhile, India’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the two sides agreed to establish an Indo-British Connectivity and Innovation Centre and a joint center for artificial intelligence, as well as a key mining industry association to strengthen supply chains and promote green technologies.
But do not think that India and the countries are a piece of iron, there are still disputes between each other.
The EU wants to expand access to dairy products and reduce tariffs on cars and alcoholic beverages, all of which are rejected by India. India believes that the food safety standards and quality control regulations set by the European Union constitute non-tariff barriers. The EU's planned carbon border adjustment tax from 2026 has also been criticized by Indian officials as a "disguised trade barrier", fearing that it will affect its exports of steel, aluminum and other products. As far as Britain is concerned, Britain and India are more about Russian oil, and India wants Britain to relax the control of work visas. When British Prime Minister Starmer visited India, he made it clear that although the free trade agreement is "very important" to Britain, the agreement does not involve changes in visa situations, and Britain will not open more visas. Despite such circumstances, both parties put aside the dispute and signed an agreement.
Cooperation with Britain and Russia focuses more on economic and trade cooperation, while Afghanistan's visit has raised India's value to another level.
The disputes between Pakistan and India in Kashmir and Jammu have caused constant conflicts between the two countries, and even lost face due to the shooting down of six fighter jets by Pakistan in the 5.7 air battle. India, which was originally held by the United States in the palm of its hand, has been repeatedly reduced in the minds of the United States, and even triggered tariff increases.
However, Afghanistan's visit and India's upgrade of diplomatic relations with Afghanistan, a country where diplomats require temporary travel exemptions from the United Nations, from the mission level to an embassy.
India's foreign minister announced on Friday after meeting with Afghan foreign ministers in New Delhi that it was upgrading its technical mission in Kabul to a complete embassy, the news was announced during the first high-level diplomatic contact since the Taliban seized the regime in 2021, twenty years after its military presence in the United States.
At the time of the meeting between India and Afghanistan, a border conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan happened, and three hundred people were injured, according to the figures released by the two sides.
Therefore, many international media believe that this visit comes at a time when the relationship between Afghanistan and Pakistan is tense, especially in terms of refugee expulsion and border tensions. India's participation is regarded as a strategic check and balance on Pakistan's influence. India also aims to limit China's dominance in Afghanistan through infrastructure and diplomatic presence.
It was at this very delicate moment that the new U.S. ambassador to India, Mr. Goal, met with Mr. Modi to discuss trade, defense and key minerals.
India's recent display has still been seen by the United States. It can be said that the relationship between the two countries has begun to warm up.
Because the United States wants to reach out to the Indo-Pacific, Japan and South Korea alone are not enough. Because during the 9.3 military parade, it was deeply impressed that the leaders of China, Russia and the DPRK walked side by side at the forefront of the team.
If the United States wants checks and balances, it naturally needs India's participation.
At the same time, for the future of India, the United States has not forgotten to beat India. The United States has invited Pakistan to visit the United States in a short period of time and successfully become an economic and trade partner.