Kathmandu, Sept 1: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin shared a symbolic moment of camaraderie on Monday as they traveled in the same vehicle to the venue of their bilateral meeting in Tianjin, immediately after the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit.

Prime Minister Modi posted a photograph of the occasion on social media, writing, “I am going to meet President Putin at the venue of the bilateral meeting after the agenda of the SCO summit. We go deeper.”

The meeting underscored India’s continuing efforts to strengthen ties with Russia, even as relations between New Delhi and Washington show signs of strain. The United States recently imposed steep tariffs of 50 percent on Indian goods, along with an additional 25 percent penalty on India’s import of discounted Russian crude. White House trade advisers have repeatedly accused India of acting as a “Kremlin’s laundry” and expressed dissatisfaction over India’s growing alignment with Moscow and Beijing.

At the SCO summit earlier in the day, Prime Minister Modi reiterated India’s vision of enhanced regional trade, connectivity, and people-to-people mobility. He highlighted flagship initiatives such as the Chabahar Port and the International North-South Transport Corridor as vital projects for linking Afghanistan and Central Asia with India.

“India has always believed that strong connectivity not only promotes trade, but also opens the door to trust and development,” Modi said. He noted that under India’s SCO presidency in 2023, new priorities were introduced, including start-ups, innovation, youth empowerment, digital inclusion, and a focus on shared Buddhist heritage.

President Putin, for his part, praised the SCO’s rising profile in global politics. He declared that dialogue within the SCO framework was “displacing outdated Euro-centric and Euro-Atlantic models” and laying the foundation for “a new Eurasian security system.” He also welcomed the increasing use of national currencies in trade within the SCO bloc, signaling a shift away from Western-dominated financial frameworks.

Chinese President Xi Jinping also addressed the summit, calling for justice and fairness in global governance. “We must promote the correct historical view of World War II and oppose the Cold War mentality, bloc confrontation and coercion,” Xi said.

Analysts say the 2025 SCO Summit demonstrated the deepening of multipolarity in the international order. They argue that U.S. President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff measures and confrontational diplomacy have weakened Washington’s alliances, while drawing India, Russia, and China closer together under the SCO umbrella.