Friendship with India, China to be Russia`s priority

      Moscow, July 15: Identifying development of friendly ties with India and China as the "most important direction" of its foreign policy in Asia, Russia on Tuesday said it will further consolidate dialogue with these countries in a trilateral format as an element of the multi-polar world order.

     In Russia's foreign policy concept released by the Kremlin, President Dmitry Medvedev underscored that development of friendship with India and China will be a priority of the country's foreign policy in Asia.

     He identified the development of the friendly relations with the two countries as the "most important direction" of the Russian foreign policy in Asia.

     "By deepening its strategic partnership with India, Russia pursues its principle course of strengthening interaction on topical international problems and augmentation of mutually beneficial bilateral ties in all the spheres, specially in ensuring substantial growth in the sphere of trade and economy," Medvedev's foreign policy concept notes.

     Under the Russian constitution the foreign policy is set by the President.

     "Russia shares India and China's interest in an effective political and economic interaction in trilateral format of Russia-India-China," Kremlin's new foreign policy doctrine says.

     It has also identified a special role for Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the regional integration and partnership. Set up as a military confidence-building organisation along former Sino-Soviet border, SCO has been transformed into a regional cooperation organisation of which India is an observer nation to which both Russia and China have pledged to give greater role.

     Bureau Report

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