Why India-Armenia ties are blossoming in a volatile world

Bound by centuries of historical and cultural ties, India-Armenia relations are scaling new frontiers as the two countries forge a template of mutually empowering partnership, animated by defence, technology and innovation. Driven by a shifting geopolitical landscape in Caucasus and the extended region, India and Armenia, although thousands of miles apart geographically, are now closer than ever.

It was in this spirit of friendship that Armenia, a landlocked South Caucasus nation, recently provided support and cooperation in facilitating the evacuation of Indian fishermen from Iran amid the conflict in West Asia. This earned gratitude from India, with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar profusely thanking his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan for Yerevan’s prompt assistance.

This friendship has acquired a new resonance in the last few years, with India replacing Russia as Armenia’s largest supplier of military hardware, including radars, missiles, and artillery. The key deals include the sale of Swathi weapon locating radars, Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launchers, anti-tank missiles, and Akash surface-to-air missile systems. Cooperation aims to bolster Armenia’s self-defence in a potentially volatile region.

‘De Facto” Strategic Partnership

Armenia’s Ambassador to India Vahagn Afyan, who has played a key role in accelerating Delhi-Yerevan relations, has described the growing defence relationship as an integral part of Armenia’s foreign policy aimed at deepening the “de facto strategic partnership with India.”

Speaking at a ceremonial reception held to mark the 34th anniversary of the formation of the Armenian Army in New Delhi, the Armenian envoy underlined that “the long-term, forward-looking, and continuous cooperation between the two countries is on an upward trajectory, including in the field of defence.” Alluding to high-level sectoral meetings, the ambassador highlighted mutual visits of the Minister of Defence of Armenia and the Chief of Defence Staff of the Indian Armed Forces. Even as Armenia expands defence cooperation with India, the envoy underlined Yerevan’s commitment to peace and stability, as well as a balanced and balancing foreign policy.

Beyond Defence

The expansion of India-Armenia defence ties has been accompanied by initiatives to boost trade, investment, tourism and people-to-people ties. In November 2025, Armenia’s Minister of Economy Gevorg Papoyan participated in the ministerial plenary session of the India-Europe Business and Sustainability Conference and “30th CII (Confederation of Indian Industry) Partnership Summit 2025” in Vishakapatnam. He also held talks with India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal and discussed steps to expand trade and investment. Mr Goyal proposed exploring a Joint Working Group at the Joint Secretary level, with a possible visit in the first quarter of 2026 to identify areas of trade potential. The Armenian minister expressed interest in expanding collaboration in Gems and Jewellery and renewables, among other things. India sought enhanced cooperation in the pharmaceutical sector. The two sides explored the feasibility of direct flights, which could have a force multiplier effect on economic relations.

Gems and Jewellery are set to provide an additional shine to the burgeoning India-Armenia partnership. On March 20, 2026, the India-Armenia Business Forum on Gems & Jewellery was held in a hybrid format, promoting collaboration between exporters and companies from both nations. With India permitting 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) in India’s gem and jewellery sector, the sky is the limit. Armenia’s investor-friendly policies, including tariff advantages for exports to US and Russia, will provide boost to cooperation in this sector.

Green Partnership

With Armenia rapidly transitioning to renewable energy, targeting a 50% renewable electricity share by 2030 and 60% by 2040, and India looking to scale up share of renewable energy to 50 per cent its electricity needs through renewable energy by 2030, green is the new colour of India-Armenia partnership. Solar energy is an emerging area of coopeeration, specially after Armenia signed the France-Indian initiated International Solar Alliance (ISA) Framework Agreement in November 2023.

Faced with the challenges of increasingg global warming and the imperative of providing clean energy to their people, India and Armenia stand to gain a lot by enhancing green partnereship. “Indian renewable energy leaders can contribute to Armenia’s energy resilience and also demonstrate India’s commitment to being the climate justice leader for the Global South,” says Davit Antonyan is Senior Associate Fellow, Applied Policy Research Institute of Armenia (APRI Armenia). The potential areas for investment and capacity-building in Armenia include, among other things, building storage facilities and batteries, and transferring technological solutions to enable Armenia to store its excess production of solar energy, he says.

Cultural Connect

The growing momentum in India-Armenia partnership is being reinforced by centuries-old civilisational connections and contemptary cultural connect. From films, music and dance to yoga and ayurveda, there is a new cultural alchemy in India-Armenia relations. This cultural affinity was beautifully captured in the film “The Color of Pomegranate.” A special screening of the film was organised by the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia in India, in collaboration with the International Chamber of Media and Entertainment Industry of India (ICMEI) in April 2024. In December 2024, the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) was inaugurated in the Indian state of Kerala, with Armenia as the focus country of the year. Armenian artisans are regular participants in the Surajkund International Crafts Mela, held in Haryana every year. The Indian expatraiate community is not very large – around 20,000 – but they have left a deep impress on their adopted country. Around 3500 Indian students study in Armenia, with students mainly from the medical field who are studying in Yerevan State Medical University and 4-5 private Universities.

The Road Ahead

Going forward, India-Armenia relations are set to deepen and diversify beyond defence, which has emerged as the lynchpin of the relationship, to trade, technology and innovation. Animated by shared strategic priorities and convergences, India and Armenia provide each other critical partnership in a mutating and turbulent geopolitical landscape. “This partnership not only enhances Armenia’s defense capabilities but also allows India to expand its influence in the South Caucasus, where it faces opposition from Turkish and Pakistani alliances that support Azerbaijan,” write Tatevik Khachatryan and Srujan Palkar in their article for Atlantic Council.

Moving beyond defence, the two countries are set to step up cooperation in renewable energy, artificial intelligence, innovation and infrastructure. Strategically, the two countries will move closer as they see each other anew as an opporunity in an uncertain and conflicted world.

India is increasingly looking at Armenia as a gateway for Indian exports and cost-effective technologies to both Europe and Russia. Connectivity initiatives such as the International North-South Transport Corridor, which seeks to connect India with Europe through Armenia and Iran, will create additional opportunties for trade and investment. India has supported Armenia’s “Crossroads for Peace,” a pioneering regional transport initiative that seeks to connect Armenia with its neighbors, which will unlock new business and trade opportunities for India. Looking ahead, it’s just the time to raise the bar by forging a strategic partnership through new institutional mechanisms like the launch of a formal 2+2 dialogue mechanism, bringing together the defense and foreign ministers of both nations. The deepening strategic connect will be in focus during the latest edition of the Yerevan Dialogue, which will be held in the Armenian capital on May 5-6, 2026.

In a congratulatory message sent to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the occasion of India’s Independence Day in August 2025, Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan highlighted “a qualitatively new level” in India-Armenia relations. “I am convinced that the activation of political dialogue, including through high-level mutual visits and contacts, will give a new impetus to the deepening of cooperation in both bilateral and multilateral formats for the benefit of our countries and peoples,” he wrote. Following the latest engagement with the Armenian Prime Minister, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on X: “India and Armenia share warm and growing ties, rooted in friendship and mutual cooperation.” In his address at at the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) in 2025, Armenia’s Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan underlined that the evolving strategic dialogue and close cooperation between the two countries testify to the importance both sides attach to the Armenia–India partnership. With this kind of positive messaging from the leaders of the two countries, the upward trajectory in India-Armenia relations will not only be sustained, but scale new frontiers in days to come.

(Manish Chand is Founder-CEO of Centre for Global India Insights (CGII), a think tank focused on international affairs and mapping India’s rise as a global player. He is also Editor-in-Chief, “India and The World,” an influential magazine-journal focused on international affairs and India Writes Network. His latest book is “India’s G20 Legacy: Shaping a New World,” a compendium of commentaries and essays by eminent diplomats and experts. )

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