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 Armenia |  India |
|---|---|
| Diplomatic mission | |
| Armenian embassy,New Delhi | Indian embassy,Yerevan |
International relations betweenArmenia andIndia have been described as friendly. The two countries share a strong burgeoning relationship in economics, culture, military and technology.[1] In 2022, it was reported that the two nations were exploring possibilities of long-term military cooperation.[2] Armenia has an embassy inNew Delhi. India has an embassy inYerevan.
Armenians are believed to have traveled to India, when some Armenians joined the auxiliary elements of the forces under the command ofAlexander the Great when he crossed Armenia en route to India. The earliest documented references to the mutual relationship of Armenians and Indians are found inCyropaedia (Persian Expedition), anancient Greek work byXenophon (430 BC – 355 BC). These references indicate that several Armenians travelled to India, and they were well aware of land routes to reach India, as also the general and political geography, socio-cultural milieu, and economic life of theIndian subcontinent.[3][4]
An archive directory (published 1956) inDelhi states that Armenian merchant-cum-diplomatThomas of Cana arrived on theMalabar Coast in 780 AD using the overland route. Thomas was an affluent merchant dealing chiefly inspices andmuslins. He was also instrumental in obtaining adecree, inscribed on acopperplate, from theChera Dynasty, which conferred severalcommercial,social andreligious privileges for the regionalSaint Thomas Christians. In current local references, Thomas of Cana is known asKnayi Thomman orKanaj Tomma, meaning "Thomas the merchant". Armenians had trade relations with several parts of India, and by the 7th century a few Armenian settlements had appeared in the present-day state ofKerala on the Malabar Coast. Armenians controlled a large part of the international trade of the area, particularly inprecious stones and qualityfabrics.[5]
Mughal emperorAkbar (1556–1605), invited Armenians to settle inAgra in the 16th century,[6] and by the middle of the 19th century, Agra had a sizeable Armenian population. Armenian traders visited Agra during the Mughal Empire. By an imperial decree, Armenian merchants were exempted from paying taxes on the merchandise imported and exported by them, and they were also allowed to move around in the areas of the Mughal Empire where entry offoreigners was otherwise prohibited. In 1562, anArmenian Church was constructed in Agra. From the 16th century onwards, the Armenians (mostly fromPersia) formed an important trading community inSurat, the most active Indianport of that period, located on the western coast of India. The port city of Surat used to have regular sea borne to and frotraffic of merchantvessels fromBasra (in present-day Iraq) andBandar Abbas (in present-day Iran). Armenians built two Churches and acemetery in Surat. Atombstone in the city, dating back to 1579, bears Armenianinscriptions. The second Church was built in 1778 and was dedicated toMary. An Armenian languagemanuscript written in 1678, currently preserved in Saltikov-Shchedrin Library,St. Petersburg, has an account of a permanentcolony of Armenians in Surat. The Armenians settled inChinsurah, nearCalcutta,West Bengal, and in 1697 built a Church there. This is the second oldest Church inBengal and is still in well preserved on account of the care of the Calcutta Armenian Church Committee.[citation needed] In 1712, the Armenian Church of Chennai was built and there was a significant Armenian community in Chennai with valuable contributions to the city. Most notable wasCoja Petrus Uscan who built the Marmalong bridge as charity.[7]
Indian PresidentSarvepalli Radhakrishnan visited theArmenian Soviet Socialist Republic in September 1964, and Prime MinisterIndira Gandhi visited in June 1976.[8]
India recognized Armenia on 26 December 1991, three months after it declared independence from theSoviet Union.Diplomatic relations between India and Armenia were established on 31 August 1992. India opened its embassy inYerevan on 1 March 1999. Armenia, which had opened anhonorary consulate in April 1994, established its embassy inNew Delhi in October 1999.[9]
Armenian PresidentsLevon Ter-Petrosyan,Robert Kocharyan andSerzh Sargsyan visited India in 1995, 2003 and 2017 respectively.[10]
In 2019 after an interview withWION,Prime MinisterNikol Pashinyan has stated that Armenia supportsIndia in theKashmir conflict between India and Pakistan.[11]
Armenia signed an agreement to purchase fourSwathi Weapon Locating Radars for US$40 million from India in March 2020.[12] In September 2022, Armenia signed an agreement worth₹2,000 crore (US$240 million) to purchase four batteries ofPinaka multi-barrel rocket launchers, anti-tank rockets, and various types of ammunition from India.[13] Since 2022, India is also supplying anti-drone systems,ATAGS towed howitzers, TC-20 (MARG) Wheeled self-propelled howitzers,[14] Ashwin Ballistic Missile Interceptors, andAkash air defence missiles to Armenia.[15]
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Armenia and India organised a joint issuing of postage stamps, illustrating the cultural heritage of the two nations. The IndianManipuri classical dance ofMeitei civilization,[16] and the ArmenianHov Arek, are referred to as the "National Dances" (of India and Armenia respectively) during the Armenia-India joint issue of postage stamps.[17][18][19] In 2025, Indian author Dr. Prashant Madanmohan organized theIndo-Armenian-French Art & Literary Confluence in Chennai, showcasing cultural unity through literature and art, including themes of memory, identity, and the Armenian Genocide.[20]
India has not recognized theArmenian genocide. However, during World War I, whenIndia was under British colonial rule, the country found itself at war against theOttoman Empire, the predecessor of Turkey. Many Armenians sought refuge in India, most notably inCalcutta.[21] With the relations between India and Turkey worsening since the 2010s, mainly due to Turkey's open support forPakistan, which shares a similar stance with Turkey, there have been growing calls for recognition of the Armenian genocide in India.[22] For the first time, under thePremiership of Narendra Modi, the Indian embassy in Armenia has mentioned the genocide and Indian ambassador Kishan Dan Dewal also paid respect to the victims of the genocide in 2021.[23]
Cyrus heard that the Chaldaeans made frequent trips to the Indian king
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