Russia approves draft logistics agreement to be signed with India

The agreement will simplify military-to-military exchanges for exercises, training, port calls and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) efforts. It is similar to a series of such agreements that India has signed with a number of countries, beginning with the United States in 2016.

An official order dated June 20 was published on Russia’s official legal information website, authorising the signing of the logistics agreement with India. The draft of the agreement was also published.

India has signed several logistics agreements, including with all the Quad countries, France, Singapore, South Korea, and Vietnam. Logistics agreements are administrative arrangements facilitating access to military facilities for exchange of fuel and provisions on mutual agreement, simplifying logistical support and increasing the operational turnaround of the military when operating away from India.

As reported earlier, the RELOS, when signed, will give India access to Russian facilities in the Arctic region, which is seeing increased global activity as new shipping routes open up. This is significant given India’s increasing investments in Russia’s eastern regions.

Among the three services, the Indian Navy has been the biggest beneficiary of these administrative arrangements signed with several countries, improving its operational turnaround and increasing interoperability on the high seas. The agreements have been a win-win for both the parties involved. For instance, the foundational agreements with the U.S., as well as the logistics agreements with Australia and Japan, have been especially beneficial as they also operate several common military platforms, along with India’s increasing share of U.S.-origin platforms.

Similarly, the United Kingdom has been leveraging its agreement with India to expand maritime cooperation. In recent deployments, Royal Navy ships have received spare parts manufactured by Indian shipyards within a short notice period, showcasing the growing interoperability between the two navies, the U.K. High commission recently noted. Similarly, Royal Air Force flights travelling in the region have already benefitted twice from taking logistics halts in India.