Context

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met with Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani during his two-day visit to India. The two leaders discussed bilateral cooperation in various areas such as defence, trade, investment, and energy. Tajani said that Italy and India are natural partners in the economic sector.

Hightlights of the visit:

1.     In the delegation level talks, both countries reviewed the growing bilateral cooperation under the ambit of Joint Strategic Action Plan (JSAP) 2025-29, which included the areas of trade and investment, defence and security, space, science and technology, clean energy transition, culture, tourism and people to people ties.

2.     They noted the vast potential of cooperation between India and Italy in areas of AI, cyber, telecom, digital technologies, renewable energy, biofuels, education and academic collaborations, scientific research and mobility of youth and professionals, among others.

3.     Both countries reiterated their commitment to elevating the bilateral strategic partnership and ensuring concrete outcomes from the JSAP.

4.     Both countries renewed their commitment to take forward the strategic initiative, India Middle East Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC).

5.     The inaugural India-Italy Business, Science and Tech Forum took place which seeks to facilitate tech collaborations, innovation, academic and R&D partnerships, co-production and joint business ventures.

6.     The forum saw the participation of companies from four key sectors:

a.     Industry 4.0 and new technologies

b.     Infrastructure, transport and logistics;

c.      Clean energy transition

d.     Aerospace and defence.

India-Italy Relationship

·        Strategic Partnership: The elevation of bilateral relations to a Strategic Partnership in 2023 marked a significant milestone, reflecting mutual trust and shared democratic values.

·        Multilateral Cooperation: Both nations collaborate in various international forums, including the United Nations, G20, and the Global Biofuels Alliance, aligning on issues such as climate change, sustainable development, and counterterrorism.​

·        Bilateral Trade: Trade between India and Italy reached an all-time high of €14.28 billion in 2022–23, with Indian exports totaling €8.691 billion. ​

·        Investment Flows: Italy is among the top foreign investors in India, with cumulative FDI inflows of $3.53 billion from 2000 to 2023.

·        Defense Industrial Roadmap: A comprehensive roadmap is being negotiated to promote co-production, co-development, and technology collaboration in defense platforms.

Conclusion

India-Italy bilateral relations are acquiring diversity and depth, with regular Leaders level engagement and Ministerial dialogues. The visit and engagements of DPM Tajani were instrumental is taking forward the strategic partnership and diversifying bilateral cooperation across domains, as per JSAP 2025-29.