Russia-India-China (RIC) trilateral meet

Russia-India-China (RIC) trilateral meet

Part of: GS Prelims and Mains II – Indian and its neighbours; International Relations

About 

• The Russia-India-China (RIC) trilateral is a significant multilateral grouping, because it brings together the three largest Eurasian countries which are also incidentally geographically contiguous.
• The 16th RIC meeting coincides with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s visit to Moscow to attend Russia’s Victory Day parade which marks the 75th anniversary of the Second World War.
• RIC discussions to focus on the current situation of the pandemic and the challenges of global security, financial stability and RIC cooperation in that context.
• Speedy delivery of S-400 long range air defence system and hardware spares are also on the agenda.

Background:

• The proposal for a Moscow-Beijing-Delhi ‘strategic triangle’ had originally come from the then Russian Prime Minister in 1998. He argued that such an arrangement would represent a force for greater regional and international stability.
• This idea of a ‘strategic triangle’ took a tangible form when former Foreign Ministers of Russia, China, and India met on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York in September 2002.

Key facts:

• RIC meeting is important as Russia, India and China are countries that carry important voices in international politics and have the potential to significantly influence world events.
• Together, the RIC countries occupy over 19 percent of the global landmass and contribute to over 33 percent of global GDP.
• All three countries are nuclear powers and two, Russia and China, are permanent members of the UN Security Council, while India aspires to be one.