Prospects for Establishing Partnership Relations between India and Iran (Significance for Russia)

Abstract

The article is dedicated to the features and potential of the emerging strategic partnership relations between India and Iran. The relevance of the study is determined primarily by the necessity of understanding the new challenges and trends that have emerged in Asia as a result of the formation of India as a great power and a sharp increase in the role of Iran in the megaregion. Analysis of the main approaches of India and Iran to the creation of a new paradigm of international relations in Asia is given with respect to the inclusion of the issue in the strategies of the leading powers of the continent. The role of project diplomacy in the energy and transport spheres in the formation of a trusted connection in the Middle East and Central Asia, including the settlement of the situation in Afghanistan, is shown. It was noted that the exceptional continuity which is one of the basic features of India's development, found its expression in the balancing behavior, including in South-West Asia, where Iran is one of the key players which is under US sanctions, and which foreign policy has retained its commitment to the goals of the Islamic revolution and dominance in the region. At the same time, over the past 2 years, negative trends have emerged in India's foreign policy, indicating that the positions of pro-American forces have significantly strengthened, which can undermine the general consensus on foreign policy that has existed for more than half a century. The focus is on the problems of the participation of India and Iran in the implementation of the international initiatives Belt and Road and the International North-South Transport Corridor (Southeast Asia – India – Iran – Russia – Europe). The study of cooperation in the field of energy (identification of the Iranian potential; supply of hydrocarbons to India; the possibility of buying liquefied gas by India; construction of a strategic gas pipeline from Iran to India, including the sea route, and possible participation of Russia in this project) and prospects for the growth of the Indian-Iranian trade turnover and changes in its structure are also crucial tasks in the analysis of Indian-Iranian economic relations.