Military and technical cooperation has become an important foundation of relations between Armenia and India in recent years. At the next stage, however, it should move beyond buying and selling weapons and develop toward joint production, research programs and a strategic partnership. This is the view of political scientist Tigran Grigoryan, director of the Regional Studies Center.
Armenia has a significant place on India’s agenda
In the political scientist’s assessment, India has become well informed about Armenia, while the positive experience of bilateral cooperation has laid a foundation for long-term relations. Grigoryan says Armenia holds a fairly prominent place on India’s defense agenda. He emphasized that the development of India’s arms exports began, to some extent, with its first deals with Armenia. Before then, the country’s military export figures had been relatively small.
India is pursuing a strategy to achieve self-reliance in various sectors by 2047. Developing its defense industry and expanding arms exports are important parts of that effort. According to Grigoryan, India is already seeing the first results, and Armenia has a significant place in the process, including in terms of export volumes.
He also pointed out that some weapons sold to Armenia were not yet in use even by India’s armed forces at the time. Armenia was therefore among the first countries to acquire and use them. In Grigoryan’s assessment, this has also increased interest in Armenia among India’s military and expert communities.
From military cooperation to a strategic partnership
Grigoryan says positive attitudes between the two societies, along with cultural and personal ties, also help the relationship grow. In addition, certain geopolitical factors could matter for deeper cooperation.
He specifically pointed to tensions between India and Pakistan, noting that Pakistan has close relations and military-technical cooperation with Azerbaijan. This, too, could play a role in the future development of Armenian-Indian relations.
At the same time, the political scientist believes bilateral relations already have substantial content but need to be strengthened at the institutional and legal levels. As an example, he noted that Armenia and China have a document on strategic partnership, whereas no comparable document has yet been concluded with India.
“I think the emphasis in the coming years should be placed on other aspects of cooperation. This is not only about acquiring new weapons, but about deeper cooperation,” Grigoryan said.
Arms procurement remains an important area of cooperation, he added. India, for example, could be an attractive partner for Armenia in acquiring various long-range missile systems. In his assessment, long-range missiles also matter for a policy of deterrence. This approach was included in a recent analytical paper published by the Regional Studies Center.
Grigoryan nevertheless believes it is time to consider the next stage of cooperation, taking existing logistical difficulties into account. According to him, transporting some types of weapons acquired from India in recent years to Armenia has presented serious challenges. Joint production of certain weapons in Armenia could therefore be a promising direction.
The political scientist said the two countries are already discussing opportunities for joint production. He also recalled the signing of relevant documents during a recent visit by an Indian delegation, stressing that the priority now is to put those agreements into practice. “This is not only about a transactional buyer-seller relationship, but about deeper cooperation — joint production and cooperation in research,” he said.
India as a long-term partner
Grigoryan believes India has developed considerable capabilities in a number of areas in recent years, creating new opportunities for cooperation with Armenia. At the next stage, the countries should not only expand practical defense ties but also raise the relationship to a strategic level, including through appropriate official documents.
Asked whether India could be a reliable long-term partner for Armenia, the political scientist said the experience of cooperation so far has been quite positive and that, in his view, both sides are satisfied with it.
He believes that positive experience provides a basis for viewing India as a promising long-term partner for Armenia. Grigoryan recalled that Armenia chose to develop ties with India in 2022–2023 because of the opportunities for cooperation with the country.
According to him, the positive atmosphere between the two societies also supports the continued development of relations. The central task now is to build on what has been achieved and turn existing agreements into concrete programs.
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