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India-Russia-Japan trilateral: Focus on resource rich Russian Far-East & Russian Arctic regions

New Delhi
January 30, 2021

India-Japan-Russia maiden trilateral have identified energy, coal mining, transport and logistics, maritime connectivity, diamond processing, agro-industry, forestry, pharma, healthcare, high technology, scientific research, capacity building, tourism, humanitarian fields as potential areas of cooperation in the Russian Far-East to boost their partnership in the Indo-Pacific region. The trilateral also explored potential cooperation in the Russian Arctic rich with natural resources.

As the initial step in the process of exploring trilateral cooperation in various areas, such as economic, social and regional issues, the focus of the first dialogue was on the exchange of views and information among the three sides on their respective outlook on the economic opportunities in the Russian Far East and identifying potential areas of trilateral cooperation, ET has learnt.

The first Track-II dialogue on India-Japan-Russia Trilateral Cooperation in the Russian Far East was held virtually on January 20. It was hosted by the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA), New Delhi. The Economic Research Institute for Northeast Asia (ERINA) from Japan and Far East Investment and Export Agency (FEIEA) from Russia are co-partners in this trilateral dialogue.

Taking note of the complementarities of capacities and convergence of interest among India, Japan and Russia, the participants agreed that it is in the three countries' shared interest to promote the trilateral framework to harness economic opportunities in the Russian Far East for mutual benefit.

In this regard, the participants identified energy, coal mining, transport and logistics, maritime connectivity, diamond processing, agro-industry, forestry, pharma, healthcare, high technology, scientific research, capacity building, tourism, humanitarian fields as potential areas of trilateral cooperation. To promote trilateral cooperation in the identified areas, it was proposed to undertake feasibility studies through stakeholder consultation.