List of countries India has strong bilateral ties with

India is one of the fastest-growing and upcoming economies and is a commonwealth nation as well. With 75 years of Independence and a staggering history along with a promising future, it enjoys bilateral ties with several nations encompassing the West and its allies, South Asian countries, Gulf countries, and African countries. India has an elaborate list of friendly countries it has bilateral ties with. Not all, however, we bring you the list of the most friendly countries India holds ties with.

1) Indo-US ties: India has strong defense ties with the US and agreements like the Logistical Exchange Memorandum of Agreement, Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement, BECA, and the Industrial Security Annex make it a long-term strategic defense ally. As of today, Indo-US ties are very strong and have common interests in counterterrorism and both are wary of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program and the growing influence of China in the Indo-Pacific region.

2) Indo-British ties: Although the UK has a very long history with India, the British invasion and India’s historic movement of seeking independence from them. These two countries have decided to put the past behind them and open a free-trade corridor between them. Both India and UK have high commission offices in their countries with over 1.5 million Indians settled in the UK. Former British PM David Cameroon saw Indo-British developments as a “New Special Relationship” in the year 2010. recently in 2022 Boris Johnson, current PM of the UK also visited India for the first time to strengthen strategic partnerships in various verticals like business and trade, education and technology, and defense and security.

3) Indo-France ties: The relationship with France is quite strong strategically since 1998 and recently in 2019 a researcher from Hudson Institute stated France is “India’s new best friend”. Puducherry attracts scores of french tourists to India, it is France’s former colonial portion. It’s because of France, that India turned into a complete civil nuclear cooperator with the international players. India entered with France for the first time into a nuclear energy agreement and also got subsidies from the IAEA and Nuclear Suppliers’ Group due to French backing.

4) Indo-Australian ties: Indo-Australian ties have a long history with the British empire colonizing both nations. Both are commonwealth nations and have shared economic, political, lingual, security, and sporting interests. Military cooperation between the 2 nations involves a routine naval exercise called AUSINDEX. After several attempts by former Prime Ministers of Australia like John Howard, Rudd, Gillard, and Tony Abbott – in 2016 uranium exports were made official and India started exporting in the year 2017. we have Malcolm Turnbull to thank for opening the corridor.

5) Ind0-Taiwan ties: It’s interesting to say that India does not have official bilateral ties with Taiwan as of today however, in May 2020 when President-elect Tsai was sworn in as a president, 2 Indian parliament members attended her ceremony and spoke volumes of Taiwan’s democracy and statehood. This sent a mixed signal to China of a futuristic partnership brewing between the Modi and Tsai governments. Again in July 2020, India appointed top-notch diplomat Joint Secretary Gourangalal Das as its envoy to Taiwan. Indo-Taiwan’s relationship has expanded across trade, technology, and interpersonal connections.

6) Indo-Bhutan ties:  On 8th August 1949, Bhutan established a Treaty of Friendship with Independent India. Although India protects Bhutan but is not a protectorate of Bhutan. When it comes to Bhutan, India is quite influential in its foreign policy, commerce, and defense.

7) Ind0-Afghanistan ties: Their relationship is termed as ‘The Gandhar-Bharat Sambandha’. Bollywood and Cricket bind them both and their togetherness goes back to ages with a strong historical and cultural mix. The Indo-Afghan ties further elevated when a Strategic Partnership Agreement in the year 2011 in the month of October.

8) Indo-Malaysian ties: Since 1957 both nations have respected and enjoyed diplomatic relations and India’s specific Act East Look East policy focuses on Malaysia and countries in that region. 2010 saw both nations entering a strategic partnership alliance. Scores of Indian immigrants live in Malaysia and in 2020 Indo-Malaysian trade reached $25 billion.

9) Ind0-African ties: The ties between the nations are quite welcoming and the free trade corridor is a routine. In 2015 the trade volume crossed $90 billion and India is Africa’s 4th best profitable trading partner and Africa is India’s 6th profitable trading partner. Specifically, with South Africa, India established a bilateral bond on 22nd November 1993, later in 1997 March, India established a strategic partnership with South Africa.

10) Ind0-Canadian ties:  Both nations are former British colonies and are commonwealth nations. Canada has millions of Indian immigrants, and students gracing the country. In 2009 the trade volume between the nations was counted at Canadian dollars 4.14 billion. The mutual relationship is solely based on democracy, interpersonal connections, and pluralism. Former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper visited India in 2012 and current incumbent Prime Minister Trudeau visited India in 2018.

11) Indo-Russian ties: while the world was observing the Cold War, India and Russia (USSR) enjoyed strong defense, economic, diplomatic, and strategic ties. Former Indian Foreign Secretary, Ranjan Mathai on his visit to Russia, said that the Indo-Russian bond has 5 guiding principles – politics, civil nuclear energy, defense, anti-terrorism cooperation, and space. Both countries aim to reach a trading volume of $30 billion by 2025 and have increased their free trade corridor by 4% since 2012.

12) Indo-Japanese ties: Primarily because of Buddhism both nations have deep traditional cultural connections. Both have common interests in democracy, pluralism, open societies and tolerance. In 2017, Indo-Japanese trade volume was at $17.63 billion. India heavily exports to Japan and in 2021 it reached $ 6.08 billion in trade volume as per UN COMTRADE. Japan, as per official development assistance sends lots of aid to India.