Prospects for Future Armenian-Indian Security Cooperation

The presence of Armenians in the Indian sub-continent dates back centuries when the Mughal emperor Akbar (1556-1605) invited a large number of Armenians to settle in Agra. The emperor granted Armenians several religious and financial privileges and opportunities to work in his empire. Thus Armenian merchants were exempted from paying taxes and were allowed to move freely around the empire, unlike other foreigners. In 1562, Armenians built a church in Agra and started to expand their influence on the port of Surat which was one of the important trade ports in India. Later Armenian colonies were established in Calcutta and the cities around. Armenians were influential in gun-making and printing.

During Soviet times, Indian President Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Prime Minister Indira Gandhi visited Soviet Armenia in 1964 and 1976, respectively. In August 1992, India became one of the first countries that established a diplomatic relationship with Armenia. Presidents Levon Ter-Petrosyan and Robert Kocharyan also visited India in 1995 and 2003, respectively. However, this relationship didn’t exceed the limit of cultural and scientific cooperation. Indian nationals living in Armenia were almost exclusively students and often stayed only as long as their studies demanded. Today, after Armenia liberalized the visa regime to Indian citizens in 2017, new business opportunities in the IT and medical sector have led to a new wave of Indian immigration. Around 2,200 Indians are legally working and living in Armenia. It is also worth mentioning that India is considered one of the emerging superpowers in the world. In 2015, it became the world’s fastest-growing economy with a 7.5 percent estimated GDP. Still, Armenian-Indian relations didn’t move beyond cultural and scientific cooperation. Due to geopolitical reasons and security threats, these relations must develop in the near future.  

Why should India be concerned about the ongoing war on Artsakh?