India's External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov agreed to cooperate further in building a more just and multipolar system of international relations, according to a press release from the Russian Foreign Ministry.
The two ministers also reaffirmed their commitment to further pursue coordinated efforts on multilateral platforms, such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), BRICS, the United Nations (UN) and G20.
Hand in Hand Towards Multipolarity
At the SCO Defence Ministers' meeting last week, Russian defence chief Sergey Shoigu told his counterpart at the gathering that the formation of a new multipolar world is causing "drastic, dynamic and irreversible change", which is being opposed by the US and its allies - although with little success, so far.
In this regard, the SCO provides an opportunity for an alternative format, in which the aspirations and concerns of non-western nations in Eurasia (and even broader, with the accession of Iran to the bloc) can be adequately met.
In a sign of support, India vowed to back Russia in all sorts of forums during Delhi Security Advisor Ajit Doval’s meeting with his Russian counterpart Nikolai Patrushev in February.
The calls to support fostering a multipolar international system have been voiced by many states and have intensified in the past few months, at a time when the nations of the Global South are no longer willing to deal with US pressure and constant economic "blackmail".
SCO nations, in this case, can be a perfect way to counter US hegemony by refusing to join the Russian price cap, promoting trade in national currencies and overall enhanced cooperation with Moscow on all fronts.