New Delhi: India and Poland elevated their ties to a “strategic partnership” level this week during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s historic visit to Warsaw. During Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s visit to Delhi earlier this month, Delhi and Kuala Lumpur elevated relations from an “enhanced strategic partnership” to a “comprehensive strategic partnership”.
Such terms for different types of partnerships have only entered the lexicon in the last two to three decades. However, there is no official definition of what these partnerships include and they are not legally binding.
Some academics point out that these terms usually serve a “bureaucratic purpose”.
“These are terms that serve a bureaucratic purpose during foreign visits. It serves as a deliverable. But there’s no official classification of what a strategic partnership and a comprehensive one entails, except that the latter signifies deeper cooperation in fields of security, technology, and other critical areas,” said Rajesh Rajagopalan, a professor of International Politics at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).
Other experts said such partnerships can be seen as “levels of trust” and mutual understanding between countries who seek to intensify engagement.
“These may be viewed as necessary steps and milestones taken by countries when building trust. In the case of India, elevating ties to these types of partnerships enhances Delhi’s multi-aligned approach in global affairs,” Amit Ranjan, a Research Fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS), National University of Singapore (NUS), told ThePrint.
Government sources said there are no specific codified requirements on what either of these types of partnerships constitute, adding, however, that elevating ties to either of the levels “signals a maturity” in relations.
The major fields of strategic partnerships usually include economy, defence, energy security, intelligence and foreign policy cooperation, science and innovation, and technology cooperation.
A comprehensive strategic partnership is seen as a level higher, with more broad-ranging engagement in the same, if not more, fields. Bilateral ties are viewed as significantly deepened with a comprehensive strategic partnership.
There are times that countries may jump straight to a comprehensive strategic partnership. For example, last September, US President Joe Biden travelled to Vietnam to elevate ties with Hanoi to the level of a comprehensive strategic partnership, skipping straight past the strategic partnership level.
India’s partnerships
India has strategic partnership agreements with over 30 countries, including the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, Japan, the European Union (EU), China and others, as noted by international political scholar Ian Hall in a 2016 research article titled Multi-alignment and Indian Foreign Policy under Narendra Modi.
On the other hand, India has fewer comprehensive strategic partnerships since it is reserved for partners with which New Delhi seeks a broader pact for deeper cooperation. Among those with whom India shares this type of partnership are Australia, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
An agreement at this level has a larger ambit. It covers all facets of bilateral ties including technology, trade, economy, technology, energy security, and people-to-people ties.
However, there are no specific set of requirements expected from either side when it comes to a strategic partnership or a comprehensive one, except for cooperation on common and shared objectives. A comprehensive strategic partnership may also provide momentum to more high-level exchanges between countries at the leaders’ level, though this may vary from country to country.
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)
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